Stephen A. Smith Says Steelers Have Last Place Written All Over Them
The Pittsburgh Steelers have not finished in last place in their division since 1988, the longest streak in the NFL, but Stephen A. Smith thinks that ends this year based off what he’s seen in the preseason thus far. The first-team offense has scored zero points in two preseason games.
“The Steelers looked awful offensively. They looked absolutely awful. I’m very, very disgusted with what I saw,” Smith said on First Take about the Steelers’ offensive performance against the Buffalo Bills on Saturday night.
“I know that the AFC North is no joke. I’m looking at (Joe) Burrow, I’m looking at Lamar Jackson, I see what Deshaun Watson’s got. And you got Amari Cooper there as well, and (David) Njoku. I’m just looking at it right now. And I’ve never said this before, because I believe in Mike Tomlin so much, but the Steelers have last place written all over them. They have last place written all over them. I do not see how they get out of this.”
"The Steelers looked awful offensively. … The Steelers have last place written all over them."
—@stephenasmith 😳 pic.twitter.com/ewJ4LxChpf
— First Take (@FirstTake) August 19, 2024
In the last two seasons, Russell Wilson and Justin Fields have been two of the most sacked quarterbacks in the NFL. Wilson has taken 100, while Fields has taken 99 sacks. No other quarterback in the NFL has taken more than 80.
Wilson was sacked three times on Saturday night, and Smith doesn’t see Wilson correcting the sack issue anytime soon. In Wilson’s defense, Broderick Jones got destroyed by Greg Rousseau on one of those sacks.
“I understand that (Wilson’s) had the calf injury and stuff like that. I get that reality. But here’s what really resonates with me, I’m thinking about the fact that you took those three sacks, you’re still holding onto the ball a little too long,” Smith said. “Why are those things relevant? Because that’s why Sean Payton couldn’t stand him. That’s why Sean Payton ran him out of Denver. That’s why Denver didn’t hesitate to push him out of the Mile High City even though they owe him $37.8 million, and they’re paying it. The Steelers (are) only paying $1.2 million.
“… I’m looking at Russell Wilson and I’m saying, ‘Damn, this is why the Denver Broncos didn’t want him. I don’t want to hear anything about the calf injury. You’re still holding onto the ball too long. That was the problem. So, I’m just looking at it from that standpoint and I’m not enthused.”
Will Brinson of CBS Sports also has a grim outlook for the Steelers this season due to the uncertainty at the quarterback position. He projects Pittsburgh to go 6-11 this season, which would mark Mike Tomlin’s first losing season as the Steelers head coach. Overall, the Steelers haven’t had a losing season since 2003.
“The quarterback concerns are pretty big in Pittsburgh,” Brinson wrote. “The Steelers upgraded to Russell Wilson/Justin Fields, but Wilson hasn’t even been on the field during much of training camp. That throws things into severe flux at the position. Fields could be a fantasy darling, but I don’t know if his athletic style of quarterbacking will necessarily translate to a bunch of wins. The departure of Diontae Johnson means the Steelers are lacking on the wide receiver depth chart. George Pickens has unlimited upside with his skillset. After him, there was buzz about Van Jefferson as their WR2, although Calvin Austin III and Roman Wilson have made some interesting noise in training camp.
“Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren are physical runners, and I tend to think an Arthur Smith offense is going to feature them heavily. I don’t expect this to be an explosive unit. Defensively, if the Steelers are the top-five unit they can be, this might end up looking like a foolish projection. Fifteen-plus games of T.J. Watt is an absolute must because of how this defense drops off when he’s out of the lineup.”
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