Mike Tomlin might just have another trick up his sleeve. After all, it wouldn't be the first time he's conjured up a way from a dreadful start to a .500 or better record.
But, given the current state of the team, which includes a plethora of injuries to key players and an offensive coordinator whose seat is so hot it could produce third-degree burns, this will -- in all likelihood -- end up being Tomlin's first losing season.
The Steelers were "smashed," as Tomlin put it, by the Bills last week. The 38-3 loss was even uglier than the score suggests. The Steelers were not only dealt an old-fashioned butt-whooping by the class of the AFC, they were dealt a harsh dose of reality that this football team just isn't that good right now.
"When it’s that bad across the board, it starts with me," Tomlin said this week. "We don’t need to seek comfort because there’s enough blame to go around. We need to be solution-oriented. And so, we begin this process."
Yes, the team is beaten up right now. T.J. Watt is missed more and more with each passing week as the pass rush continues to fail in his absence. The secondary is decimated due to injury, and now four of the five regulars in the nickel defense -- the most used by Pittsburgh -- will miss this Sunday's game against the Buccaneers at Acrisure Stadium.
But, Tomlin is taking the right steps forward. In fact, the first step in finding those solutions was taken when he named Kenny Pickett the starting quarterback. The next is holding himself accountable for the failures that have transpired during these five weeks.
From here, when the team is at rock bottom, to quote Dom Cobb from Inception, "Upwards is the only way forwards."
Quick fixes aren't going to do this team any good. At 1-4, the chances of the Steelers making the playoffs are virtually nonexistent. Anything Tomlin does from here on out should impact the long term more than the short term in any feeble hopes to try and turn this season around into a surprise playoff run.
So, it was quite refreshing to hear that Tomlin spoke to his team on a much larger scale in meetings early in the week.
"We talked big picture for a moment; where we are and kind of what needs to transpire without getting into detail," Tomlin said. "One thing that I want our team to know, and I stated it to them, is that we’re not going to cure our ills in one or a couple of days, or a good plan, or a good performance for that matter. The state that we’re in, we’ve got to put our heads down and work hard and diligently and stay together for an extended period of time as we grind our way back to respectability. So, I just think it’s a mindset that we all need to have, understanding where we are. They’re not quick fixes, it’s not going to be based on one good performance or one good plan. I just think as we prepare and lean in for this next opportunity that we just say that, that we’re going to be working our tails off. We didn’t dig ourselves into this circumstance in one day, so we’re not going to dig ourselves out of this circumstance in one day or one performance."
"The Standard is The Standard," and Super Bowls are "The Standard" in Pittsburgh. That's why the outcry from fans is amplified when the team plays this poorly amid the toughest stretch on the 2022 schedule.
This is a challenge Tomlin has yet to face during his tenure as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Not even Chuck Noll or Bill Cowher can boast they've never had a losing season. Noll had to deal with the fallout of his franchise quarterback retiring, and now Tomlin is doing the same. The good news is he's already got a talented first-round quarterback that is willing to challenge "The Standard," albeit inadvertently.
"It’s unacceptable how we played last game," Pickett said this week. "The standard has to be raised, we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard and it really starts in practice. So, we need better practice habits that’ll translate over to the game."
You may not always agree with what Tomlin does with his red challenge flag or how he manages the clock inside two minutes. But Tomlin has seldom not had an accurate reading of his team's pulse. His switch to Pickett from Mitch Trubisky may have taken longer than most people would like, but it's a good bet that three and a half games won't be much remembered in the years to come.
Head coaches that make knee-jerk reactions come with an expiration date. When it comes to rebuilding the way back to achieving "The Standard," Tomlin is right in saying there are no quick fixes.
What we can really learn from the remaining 12 games on the schedule is Tomlin deals with more adversity than he's ever seen. He's passed his previous tests, turning 0-4 into 8-8 during the 2013 season and managing another 8-8 record with Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges at quarterback.
But, we might be able to learn even more about Tomlin if and when we see him deal with the failure of a losing season. If he can somehow dock the beaten and battered ship in the port while maintaining the trust of his crew, then we'll know more of whether or not this is the right guy to lead the Steelers back on the road to "The Standard."
THE ESSENTIALS
• Who: Steelers vs. Buccaneers (-9.5)
• What: Week 6, regular season
• When: Sunday, 1:02 p.m.
• Where: Acrisure Stadium
• Weather: 67°, 5% chance rain, 10-mph wind
• TV: FOX (national), WPGH-TV (local)
• Radio: 102.5 WDVE, ESPN Pittsburgh
• Streaming: Steelers Nation Radio
• Satellite: Sirius XM 385, online 826
• Boxscore: DKPS
• Team media guides: Steelers | Buccaneers
• Official game notes: Steelers | Buccaneers
THE INJURY REPORT
• Steelers: CB Ahkello Witherspoon (hamstring), CB Cam Sutton (hamstring), S Minkah Fitzpatrick (knee), TE Pat Freiermuth (concussion), CB Levi Wallace (concussion) and DE DeMarvin Leal (knee) are OUT. S Terrell Edmunds (concussion), DT Larry Ogunjobi (back), WR Diontae Johnson (hip), C Mason Cole (foot), TE Zach Gentry (knee) and DT Montravius Adams (hip) were able to fully participate in Friday's practice and are good to go for Sunday.
Leal was placed on Injured Reserve Saturday afternoon. The Steelers also promoted CB Joshua Jackson to the 53-man roster and elevated CB Quincy Wilson and S Elijah Riley from the practice squad to the Active/Inactive roster.
• Buccaneers: DT Akiem Hicks (foot), CB Sean Murphy-Bunting (quad) and S Logan Ryan (foot) are OUT. WR Julio Jones (knee) did not practice during the week and is listed as DOUBTFUL. Doubtful S Mike Edwards (elbow) was limited in practice all week and is considered QUESTIONABLE.
THE KEY VARIABLE
There are no two ways around it. This team is not only reeling from a 1-4 start, but they are horribly banged up. And for a defense that is already struggling so much without Watt, the vast majority of these injuries reside on that side of the ball.
If the Steelers were relatively healthy, they could stand a better chance at combating Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay offense. But Pittsburgh will now be reaching deep into the well to face the seven-time Super Bowl champion, and that will include contributions from depth pieces such as James Pierre and Miles Killebrew, along with practice squad members such as Josh Jackson.
Pierre and Jackson were thrust into action last week at Buffalo when Levi Wallace and Cam Sutton left with injuries. With neither starter getting any practice this week, they should be in a better spot to perform as they've been able to prepare throughout the week getting precious reps during practice.
"They competed well. Again, they practice hard. That’s how they practice. So, we expect when the guys have an opportunity to go into a game that they’ll perform up to their capabilities and they’ll understand what we’re trying to get done," Teryl Austin said Thursday. "Again, like I said, I think the thing that they were put into last week, they gave us a great effort."
As much as it hurts to lose players such as Wallace, Sutton and Ahkello Witherspoon, the absence of Minkah Fitzpatrick is devastating. The Steelers use Fitzpatrick back in his typical free safety position, and he's one of the best in the league at manning that spot. However, he's also utilized closer to the line of scrimmage in a variety of ways to thwart the opposing run game or short passing attack.
No one else on this roster can duplicate what Fitzpatrick does. And with a pass rush that's failed to pressure the opposing quarterback since Watt went down, there will be even more pressure on the secondary to properly execute coverages.
THE HISTORY LESSON
The Steelers lead the all-time series against the Buccaneers, 9-2. As it is with most non-conference teams, there isn't nearly as much material to draw from.
I was tempted to go all the way back to revisit Lethon Flowers' "paper champions" comment. But, with this game taking place in Pittsburgh (only four of the 11 previous meeting have been), I'm going to revisit the most recent trip the Buccaneers made to the North Shore.
You might remember it as "The Mike Glennon Game."
The Steelers entered the game 2-1 and as 7.5-point favorites. The game was closer than it needed to be in the latter stages of the game. However, with just over 10 minutes to go and looking to add to a 24-20 lead, Todd Haley called for a flea flicker, and the offense ran it to perfection. Ben Roethlisberger handed off the Le'Veon Bell, then Bell flipped it back to Ben, all with plenty of time to find Antonio Brown streaking down the field for what could have been a touchdown, or at least a big enough gain to put Pittsburgh in the red zone.
Ben's pass was right on the money, but it went right through Brown's hands and the Steelers were eventually forced to punt the ball away.
Tampa Bay's ensuing drive chewed up a lot of clock as they moved down the field just a little bit at a time, and they made their way into the red zone right before the two-minute warning to make everyone in the stadium more nervous than they thought they'd ever be on this day. However, the Steelers' defense stood strong, forcing Glennon to try and convert fourth and 10 from the Pittsburgh 14-yard line, but his throw was too high for Vincent Jackson.
All the Steelers needed to do to secure victory was force Tampa Bay to use both of their remaining timeouts and convert one first down. Bell gained two yards on first down, and Tampa Bay stopped the clock with one of those timeouts. But, Maurkice Pouncey was called for a false start before second down, which forced the Steelers into second and 13.
Pittsburgh took a chance to try and gain the first down, opting to throw the ball, and Roethlisberger was able to complete an 8-yard pass to Markus Wheaton, forcing the Buccaneers to burn their final timeout.
On third down, the Steelers opted to play it safe, burn the clock and trust the defense to put the game away. Bell lost three yards on third and 5, but it took 40 precious seconds off the clock. Unfortunately, Brad Wing's punt only traveled an abysmal 29 yards, giving Tampa Bay the ball at the Steelers' 46-yard line with :40 remaining in the game.
After an incompletion on first down, the Steelers blew coverage at the worst possible moment and Glennon found Louis Murphy on a post over the middle for a 41-yard gain down to the Pittsburgh 5-yard line. Glennon spiked the ball to stop the clock with 15 seconds remaining.
After a quick incompletion burned only three seconds, the nightmare became a reality. Glennon stared down Jackson running a route that broke in then broke straight out. William Gay bit and Glennon had enough room to find Jackson for the game-winning touchdown with only :07 remaining.
It didn't take long for the Steelers to put the pain of this loss behind them. After splitting the next two games, the Pittsburgh offense exploded during a three-game win streak over the Texans, Colts and Ravens, scoring a combined 124 points in all three games -- all played at home.
Yes, those games against the Colts and Ravens were the games where Roethlisberger threw six touchdowns passes in back-to-back performances.
THE MAIN MATCHUP
The same as it's been since 2001 -- you have to stop Brady.
Some of the best Pittsburgh defenses that went up against Brady struggled to stop the future Hall of Famer. Including the playoffs, Brady has faced the Steelers 15 times throughout his career, winning 12 of those games, throwing 34 touchdowns and only five interceptions.
While Father Time might finally be catching up with Brady (the jury's still out on that one), he still poses a very big threat to a very depleted Steelers defense. Even at 45 years old, he's still completing 68.1 percent of his passes while boasting a 96.5 passer rating. There's no doubt Brady is the focal point of the Tampa Bay offense as they throw the ball two-thirds of the time. Only the Rams throw the ball more often.
And this is all done by a guy who's done it the same way for over two decades in the NFL.
"I don’t think there’s anything that jumps out. He still makes the throws," Austin said Thursday. "I know we were in our meeting the other day and we just – you’ve got a 45-year-old and that ball still jumps off his hand and the accuracy is still there. Obviously, the smarts and competitiveness are still there. You don’t see a huge drop off. I mean, maybe in the mobility department in terms of him moving and getting out, but that’s natural."
Yes, he doesn't move much anymore. But, he doesn't have to. Nobody in football gets rid of the ball faster than Brady, as he averages 2.4 seconds from the snap of the ball to the time he throws it. Game-planning for a quarterback that's virtually untouchable and has seen every defensive scheme known to man is a very, very tall task for Tomlin, Austin, Brian Flores and anyone else trying to draw up a winning formula.
"I think you pick your spots, and you have to do some different things in terms of, like everybody every week, coverage and what you’re doing and who you want to take away and who you’re trying to take away and where you don’t want the ball to go," Austin explained. "I think those are all important things and we’ll just try to do that this week the best we can. I think the guys we’ll have out there, we’re going to have the game plan and they’ll understand it and what we’re trying to get done. It’s up to us to execute it."
When I say virtually untouchable, I am referring to how quickly Brady is getting rid of the football. But at the same time, I'm not tone deaf to what most of you probably thought. Even if the Steelers manage a way to get to Brady, how many of those plays will be nullified by a roughing the passer call.
Given two controversial calls from just last week -- one of which included Brady as the victim -- Austin was asked how they can coach up players to hit the quarterback without risking a penalty.
"We just try to follow the rules as they’ve been presented to us, whereas if you hit the quarterback, you don’t land on him with your body weight, you get to the side, you don’t hit him in the head and all those things. We’re just going to follow the rules," Austin said. "If the call’s not what we want when we’re following the rules, we can’t not coach our guys differently. I think we coach our guys what the rules are, and then we go from there."
10 DATA POINTS
• A Pittsburgh receiver has yet to record a receiving touchdown this year, and that's the first time the Steelers have had that happen since 1990. The receiver to break that streak? Louis Lipps, catching a 6-yard pass from Bubby Brister en route to a 34-17 road victory over the Broncos in Week 6.
• Neither the Buccaneers nor the Steelers have scored an offensive touchdown in the first quarter of their games this season. Pittsburgh has gone 14 straight games without a first-quarter touchdown scored by the offense.
• The Steelers' offense is averaging only 4.8 yards per play and has only scored six total touchdowns this season. Both marks are tied for last in the NFL.
• The Steelers' offense will have their work cut out for them. Outside of a rough outing against the Chiefs, Tampa Bay's defense allowed 27 combined points to Dallas, New Orleans and Green Bay.
• Tampa Bay gave up 151 yards rushing last week. The Steelers are averaging 88.6 yards on the ground per game. If there's an opportunity to get the run game going...
• The Steelers have converted 24 of 66 third downs (36.4 percent). Believe it or not, that's only 22nd in the NFL. Pittsburgh's 46.2 red zone percentage is a tad worse at 25th in the league.
• Brady has also squared off against a rookie quarterback 28 times in his career, winning 23 of those matchups and has a current 12-game unbeaten streak against them. His first loss to a rookie quarterback came in 2004 to Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh.
• The Buccaneers have racked up 12 more sacks than they've allowed.
• The Steelers' defense has 10 total sacks this season, which is tied with four other teams for 19th in the NFL and is 11 behind the 49ers' 21 sacks, which leads all teams. That means since the seven-sack performance in Cincinnati, the Steelers' pass rush has generated three sacks in four games without Watt.
• The Steelers are also tied with two other teams for 22nd in the NFL with 25 quarterback hits.
THE FANTASY CORNER
I think I've tapped as much fantasy magic out of the Commanders and Jaguars through the first five weeks, and now it's costing me money. So, I'm steering clear this week. Here's my lineup for Week 6 (with a $50,000 salary cap on DraftKings).
• QB: Tom Brady, Buccaneers ($6,300)
• RB1: Joe Mixon, Bengals ($6,900)
• RB2: Raheem Mostert, Dolphins ($5,700)
• WR1: Justin Jefferson, Vikings ($8,900)
• WR2: Tyler Lockett, Seahawks ($5,600)
• WR3: Devin Duvernay, Ravens ($4,700)
• TE: David Njoku, Browns ($4,000)
• FLEX: George Pickens, Steelers ($4,600)
• DEF/ST: Bengals ($3,100)
This week, I'm trying to tap into the same fortune my league's fantasy team is producing. Despite a 3-2 record, my team leads the league in scoring. So, I'm using the same quarterback, two running backs and top two receivers. Duvernay could be a nice pickup for the value with Rashod Bateman on the shelf. Njoku continues to get targets, and he's been a modest-yet-consistent fantasy producer. There's no doubt that Pickens is not only Pickett's favorite target, but also most reliable. Given his value and game-changing ability, I'm sticking with him again.
