The Pittsburgh Steelers have been through some rough patches during Mike Tomlin’s 19 seasons as the team’s head coach. But Sunday may have been rock bottom.
The Buffalo Bills ran the ball 51 times for 249 yards versus the Steelers defense in Week 13. Not only was that a record for an opponent playing the Pittsburgh defense at Acrisure Stadium, it was the most rushing yards the Steelers yielded in a single regular season contest in 50 years.
Meanwhile, on offense, the Steelers produced just 90 yards in the first three quarters. The team’s two quarterbacks completed 10 of 24 pass attempts, and the Steelers didn’t score in the second half.
After the game, Tomlin didn’t have much positive to say about the defeat.
“Not a lot needs to be said. That’s an awful performance by us,” Tomlin told reporters. “But it’s us — we didn’t do a lot well tonight, obviously.
“We didn’t possess the ball or maintain ball security on offense. We were highly penalized, we allowed those guys to run the ball. Didn’t play 60 minutes of action. Didn’t play complementary football. We’ve got to absorb that result.”
Ball control has been an issue for the Steelers the entire season. Tomlin’s club entered Sunday ranked 30th in total offensive plays and time of possession.
In Week 13, Buffalo controlled the ball for nearly 42 minutes. The Steelers offense ran just 43 plays while the Bills had 74.
“It’s just not enough production. We’re not going to make excuses for it,” said Tomlin.
Mike Tomlin, Steelers Lose Again After Leading at Halftime
The Steelers have now lost five of their past seven contests to fall to an even 6-6. If the playoffs started today, they wouldn’t be in the postseason.
However, in three of those five recent losses, the Steelers actually led at halftime. In the three contests where the Steelers blew halftime leads, Tomlin’s club played terribly in the third quarter.
That happened for the second consecutive week versus the Bills. Buffalo recorded 134 yards versus Pittsburgh’s 3 in the third quarter.
Tomlin didn’t mince words when describing the issue to reporters Sunday.
“The third quarter was awful. It was awful last week. We’ve got to absorb responsibility of that,” said Tomlin.
“We didn’t play a good half of football. We turned the ball over,” Tomlin added. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â “[Didn’t] produce scores. There’s nothing mystical about that. It was very similar to last week.”
Against the Bills, the Steelers started with the ball in the second half. But Aaron Rodgers fumbled while getting sacked on that first possession after halftime. Buffalo recovered the loose ball and returned it for a touchdown.
The score gave Buffalo the lead for good Sunday evening. The Bills scored another touchdown off a Mason Rudolph interception in the third quarter as well.
Steelers Fail to Take Advantage of Two Backup Tackles
The Steelers edge rushers have been heralded as one of the best groups in the league. But for too many weeks, they have failed to make a significant impact.
Against the Bills, they were quiet despite a juicy matchup. Buffalo started a backup at both left and right tackle.
T.J. Watt had four tackles but no negative plays. Alex Highsmith had six combined tackles, and Nick Herbig had two tackles for loss. But the Steelers defense had zero sacks and only one quarterback hit.
Tomlin blamed the fact the Bills didn’t drop back in obvious passing situations on the reason for the poor pass rush showing.
“Good question. I don’t have the answer to it,” Tomlin said. “I know that they weren’t in a whole bunch of one-dimensional passing circumstances, and that’s usually where the backup games show.”
The Steelers will have to lick their wounds quickly. Tomlin and his team will visit the Baltimore Ravens in Week 14 on December 7.
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