Kovacevic: Hard to envision status quo following another egg Sunday

It isn't do or die. 

Really, this Steelers vs. Jets matchup Sunday, 1:02 p.m. at Acrisure Stadium, represents but a single game in Week 4 of the NFL's regular season, amid an AFC North Division that's separated, top to bottom, by a single game.

I'd think of it more as do or try.

Meaning, keep doing what's being done, keep getting nowhere, keep pretending there's progress on an offense that's been historically pathetic through this 1-2 start ... or try to be a hell of a lot better.

Put it this way: Let's suppose that this game goes the way most of New York's games have gone for, oh, a few decades now. And from there, let's suppose that all of Matt Canada's juvenile jet-sweeps-for-the-sake-of-jet-sweeps suddenly amount to, say, two or three offensive touchdowns.

I know, I know ... just play along, OK?

Now, let's suppose that Mitch Trubinsky breaks out of the huddle a new man, no longer staring down his targets, no longer checking down as a reflex, no longer misfiring on those precious occasions he dares to throw deep or across the middle. And from there, let's suppose that Trubisky throws for ... um, 200 yards?

I KNOW, I KNOW ... JUST PLAY ALONG, OK?

Well, here's the awkward but fair question to pose if all that plays out: What's the gain?

Will anyone anywhere be convinced that Canada isn't grossly in over his head? After he's now coordinated 20 NFL games -- all of them in Pittsburgh, unfortunately -- and overseen four total first-quarter touchdowns? Even though that's the quarter that's the easiest to script? Even though the defense hasn't yet had a chance to adjust a solitary X to his O?

Will anyone anywhere be convinced that Trubisky's a superior option to Kenny Pickett now or, for that matter, into the future?

All right, so what's the precise point of either of these exercises? Other than, of course, to prevent Mike Tomlin from looking like he made not one but two massive mistakes in assembling this offense. And, in turn, to keep him from having to make two terribly uncomfortable calls in midseason, unlike any he'll have encountered in his tenure.

Look, I'll be blunt here: The change that should've occurred before this game absolutely, positively needs to occur after this game ... unless the game itself were to somehow -- magically -- alter all or even most of what's above. This was the ideal scenario for it. Ten days between games. Everyone already in a foul mood. And let's not forget, the Bills, Bucs, Dolphins and Eagles after this.

I don't want to hear about the potential pitfalls. This is the pitfall.

I don't want to hear how a defensive head coach can't make a change at OC. Not when Mike Sullivan, the capable, experienced quarterbacks coach, knows the playbook as well as anyone. Not when Sullivan, a super-impressive guy, could outwit Canada by plucking plays from an upturned cap. It's impossible to modify a playbook much a month into the season, but there's a seismic difference between that and developing smarter sequencing, establishing a rhythm, not having his right-handed quarterback roll to his left on third-and-short when Myles Garrett's lined on that side ... all that stuff Canada can't do.

And man alive, I'm beyond sick of hearing about the need to shelter Pickett, as if he'd been born in bubble wrap. The kid's a player. A prime-time player, as his broader reputation's shown. It's not just that he's sound at the position but, rather, that he's got stones of steel when performing. And if anyone's still fretting over how he'll perish behind this offensive line, good luck supporting that with the film of their recent work.

There's a place this franchise needs to be, sooner rather than later. Might as well make the first couple strides.

• A reminder that Tomlin doesn't make the biggest decisions. That's still Art Rooney II. He can feel free to contribute at any juncture.

• Anticipating 24 hours of torment for Acrisure Stadium's turf -- including Pitt vs. Georgia Tech last night -- officials re-sodded the middle of the field earlier this week:

It's not true that the grounds crew's original plan was to re-sod the edges to accommodate Canada and Trubisky.

• Pat Freiermuth was run over by a tractor while this took place. No one noticed.

• "You guys are breaking us up," Najee Harris told the reporters assembled around him a couple days ago on the South Side.

I grasped what he meant: It was that, by asking questions of different individuals on the offense, players can easily be prodded into answering in a way that's interpreted as criticism of a teammate. Makes perfect sense, and it's accurate, as well.

But I've gotta share: If there's so much as 22 milliseconds of thought invested in this variable within that locker room, as opposed to addressing what's actually causing the ailments ... my goodness.

Through three games, Najee's run the ball 40 times for 128 yards, a 3.2 average, with a long of 11. He's scored one touchdown. This despite the film showing significant holes being opened up that he's ignoring, as he'd acknowledge himself later in this same session.

A mirror often works best.

The video, for full context:

• I don't care what Antonio Brown does, where he does it, why he does it. And I haven't cared in quite some time. But I'm feeling alone in that regard.

• I do care what the Dolphins did relative to Tua Tagovailoa in the past week, and here's hoping the NFL Players Association brings all available legal guns to the fight. It'd be naive to hope for the league to give a damn and, to be truthful, it'd be almost equally naive to hope for DeMaurice Smith to find the needed guts, either.

Firing the on-site concussion specialist, as the union did yesterday, is a swell start but hollow.

• The real solution is speaking up. Meaning within the football world, not columnists and commentators like me. Meaning other players, as happened that Thursday night. Meaning John Harbaugh the next day in Owings Mills, Md.:

Cultures never change from the outside.

• Time was, the Steelers' defense could be counted upon to devour young quarterbacks. Time was, just three weeks ago, they could be counted on to devour most any quarterback.

Without T.J. Watt, though, there's no telling what young Zach Wilson might get away with. No pressure means no pressure, no matter the target's age, and that's exactly what Alex Highsmith, Malik Reed and the entire line mounted on Jacoby Brissett in Cleveland, and I'm seeing that as being the game's great decider in one direction or the other. The Jets are only as good as anyone cares to concede.

• T.J. in practice earlier this week, as captured by our Corey Crisan:

Wonderful to see. But dude ... no. This ain't worth it, compared to a Hall of Fame future.

• The lone tangible show of accountability for the leaky run defense in Cleveland -- actually, for anything that went wrong there -- was Tyson Alualu being bumped off the starting line in favor of Montravius Adams. And I don't see the latter getting on the field much, with all the sub-packages I'm expecting to try to confuse Wilson.

Maybe 1-3 would lengthen the list.

• Man, Mitch'll hear it today. First three-and-out. Just watch.

• Sorry if this comes across as excessively sour. Meaning the whole column. That's seldom the intent at the outset of anything I write.

I see so much of what's crippling the Steelers right now as self-inflicted, and it's a challenge, to say the least, to look past it. There's plenty enough talent at hand -- both sides of the ball, believe it or not -- for this to have been avoided.

And it's still not too late.