ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- It was awfully testy in the Pittsburgh locker room Sunday afternoon.
The Steelers had just been outgunned, outmatched and outclassed by the Bills, and it resulted in a horrendous 38-3 loss. That's the largest margin of defeat during Mike Tomlin's tenure as head coach, and the worst for the franchise since the Browns walloped the Steelers, 51-0, in 1989.
"I’m just disappointed that we didn’t coach well enough or play well enough to prevent it from happening today," Tomlin said after the game. "That’s just the reality of it."
There's a lot more to unpack from Tomlin. But, bear with me. I really want to set the scene for you first.
Locker rooms are often quiet after a loss. At least, they are when the media is allowed to come in and speak with players. However, this day was different. Some Steelers were taking this loss extremely hard, and for good reason. A 35-point loss in the NFL is an embarrassment. Josh Allen might be the best quarterback in football right now, and the Pittsburgh secondary came into the game missing two of its starters with three others less than 100 percent.
But, it doesn't matter what the team puts out there. Allowing over 300 yards passing in the first half -- including touchdowns of 98 and 62 yards -- will never be excused, regardless of the circumstances.
Just after the media was permitted into the Steelers' locker room, reporters and cameras quickly flocked to Minkah Fitzpatrick. Not even one minute into him answering questions, Arthur Maulet's frustration hit a boiling point. "You've gotta love this, man," he'd repeat several times. He'd then refer to players smiling on the sidelines during the massacre that took place on the field at Highmark Stadium, challenging their love for the game if losing by five touchdowns didn't bother them like it bothered others.
The only player to really clap back at Maulet was Marcus Allen, who defended himself. That only made Maulet even more upset, and in turn, grew louder -- all while Fitzpatrick continued to answer questions, but took the occasional glance over in Maulet's direction. Not many seconds later, with Maulet still venting his frustration, Fitzpatrick answered his final question, then gave a quick warning for Maulet to stop. After another few seconds, Cam Heyward shouted one boisterous, "Hey!" from several feet away, which was more than enough to finally put an end to what had been an outpouring of frustration.
"This is one of those (losses) that you don't forget," Myles Jack said after the game. "When you travel and you go to somebody else's house and they throw a party like this, it's never something you forget. It's something you remember years from now. I think a lot of good can come out of this if we react to it the right way."
Heyward and Fitzpatrick stopped Maulet because stuff like what he did should be reserved for when the media isn't in the locker room. That kind of stuff is meant to be done behind closed doors. But, Sunday gave us a glimpse into a team that is not only growing in frustration, but also running out of answers.
Listen, as much as I love illustrating what went right or wrong with videos, I can't do this one justice without putting the whole game in here to show what all went wrong. Because, just about everything did.
However, the two daggers -- touchdowns of 98 and 62 yards, respectively -- provide wonderful examples of breakdowns on defense from top to bottom.
After Buffalo muffed the opening kickoff and was forced to start the opening drive at its own 2-yard line, the Steelers defense quickly pounced with two solid plays: A batted pass at the line of scrimmage by DeMarvin Leal on first down, then holding Devin Singletary to no gain on second down.
But on third down, the absolute worst thing that could possibly happen ... happened:
Heyward had this to say about the play, plain and simple: "That can't happen as a defense."
You can't see it in the video, but Tre Norwood was the safety back on that side of the field in the play. He jumped up early in the play, which allowed Gabe Davis to not only blow past Levi Wallace, but Norwood as well for the easy score.
But, why is Fitzpatrick playing as a spy for Allen? He's the Steelers' best safety. Why is Norwood the only one responsible for over-the-top-coverage while Fitzpatrick is essentially playing a linebacker-type role?
The Steelers did make that adjustment later, as Fitzpatrick was back in coverage far more often throughout the game. However, that plays into the other dagger. The Steelers only trailed 10-3, but Allen decided to challenge them deep again, even with Fitzpatrick back as the high safety. Here, Fitzpatrick and the Steelers simply got beat:
"They made big plays. We didn't. It's very simple," Fitzpatrick said. "They had way too many big plays down the field. We don't usually do that as a secondary. It was an unusual game for us. But, we take responsibility for it. We gave up big plays to a team that relies on big plays. That's why the score was what it was."
I painted the picture of what happened in the locker room to set the scene that this day was different for the Steelers. Not because of a historic defeat. Rather, because of what it may provide: Real change.
You see, I asked some questions in the locker room that provided the same old lip service that you'd expect to hear. For example, when I asked Norwood what happened on his coverage assignment on the 98-yard touchdown to start the game, this was his response:
"Just bad details. Just bad technique," Norwood said. "It's something that we've gotta make sure we go back and -- not even to the drawing board. Just make sure we go back to our fundamentals. We're owning that. It's on tape. It's our film. We've gotta make sure we own that and take it on the chin, keep climbing uphill and get back to work."
Nothing personal against Norwood, but these are the type of answers that come when the team loses a game in a respectable fashion. When the team follows a trend of three bad games by losing by 35 points while giving up 432 yards in the air, recording zero sacks with only one quarterback hit and allowing the Bills to average 10.2 yards per play while actually winning the time of possession battle, that needs to generate more than comments about needing to fix the details. It needs to shake the team down to its core, and that starts with the man in charge.
Fortunately for the 1-4 Steelers, it appears Tomlin will do much more than fix the details. He could make some significant changes to the defense, even if that means benching some starting players.
"Absolutely. You play like we played today, you’ve got to be open to doing whatever is required to change the outcome of these games. That’s a given," Tomlin said. "I don’t think anybody is going to be surprised by our willingness to turn over whatever stone to change the outcomes of games like what transpired today. That’s just appropriate."
Tomlin immediately received a follow-up question, asking if that also referred to the coaching staff. And, he didn't say no ...
"Like I said, I think everyone understands where we are and what transpired today and that it is not cool," Tomlin said. "So, you can draw whatever conclusions you want to draw from it. That’s just the reality of our business at this level."
To finish it off, Tomlin wanted to make sure everyone understood that the multitude of failures in Sunday's loss went far beyond the lack of any details. When asked if he was satisfied with his team's effort, Tomlin responded, "Satisfied with the effort? We just got smashed. What are we talking about here, guys?"
At 1-4, the Steelers are in a place they have never been under Tomlin. Yes, they've been 1-4 before, but not with this collection of talent. Truthfully, it simply does not compare to the defenses Tomlin has coached in the past, even taking into account the absence of T.J. Watt.
Tomlin has never fired a coach during the middle of the season. However, he might have cause to do so as the season continues to spiral violently out of control. I'm just not sure if he'll actually pull the trigger on doing so, whether that's to help solve the problems on defense or offense.
What I am sure of is that Tuesday's press conference will be one of the most crucial moments in Tomlin's tenure -- as it should, since it's coming on the heels of his worst loss.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Scoreboard
• Schedule
• Standings
• Statistics
THE INJURIES
Hurt in the game: TE Pat Freiermuth (concussion protocol), CB Levi Wallace (concussion protocol), DT Larry Ogunjobi (back), CB Cam Sutton (hamstring), the latter an aggravation. I have a full report.
The inactives: S Terrell Edmunds (concussion protocol), CB Ahkello Witherspoon (hamstring), QB Mason Rudolph, WR Gunner Olszewski, G Kendrick Green, DE Isaiahh Loudermilk, LB Mark Robinson
THE SCHEDULE
It's back home next Sunday to see Brady and the Buccaneers, 1:02 p.m., at Acrisure Stadium. After that, trips to Miami and Philadelphia leading into the bye week. It doesn't get any easier after Buffalo.
THE MULTIMEDIA
THE CONTENT
Visit our team page for everything from our football staff of Chris Halicke, Eddie Provident, Ramon Foster, Matt Williamson and myself.
