On a two-game winning streak, the Pittsburgh Steelers headed to Houston to take on a Texans’ team that had a first-year head coach, rookie QB and a banged up offensive line. It all added up to an embarrassing 30-6 loss. Here are my rapid-fire thoughts on what transpired.
Offense
-The last two weeks have covered up a lot of blemishes but today revealed just how awful the offense really is. No consistency, no creativity… It’s really bad.
-Kenny Pickett was set up to fail and today proved that. Not allowing him to audible out of plays is ridiculous. Not giving him a better coordinator is just as egregious.
-To be clear, Kenny Pickett has two people to blame for his injury. Himself and Matt Canada. Fourth and one and we go shotgun with three deep routes. Pickett spinning into the sack is something he’s done way too often.
-Najee Harris should have gone to school today. What did he learn? That hitting the hole and not dancing is the way to do it.
-Pat Freiermuth’s injury is exactly why I suggested cutting Zach Gentry was stupid. Now Darnell Washington is all they have.
-Broderick Jones played decently in his first extended action. Plenty of things to work on but we knew that. The good news is that there weren’t any awful moments from what I could see.
-George Pickens needs to grow up. Just because the game isn’t going the way he wants it to doesn’t mean he can behave like a child.
-Mason Cole just isn’t getting it done at center. His inability to stop interior pressure is killing the entire offense. That said, Isaac Seumalo has been disappointing. He flat out missed a stunt today that saw his QB get sacked.
-Do not, for one second, blame Broderick Jones for the sack that saw Kenny Pickett get hurt. He had his man in very nice position and Pickett, as he is known to do, tried to evade the pressure.
-Obviously we all await word on the injury status of Kenny Pickett, Dan Moore and Pat Freiermuth. Regardless, this offense has concerns well beyond these three guys.
Defense
-The Texans did an excellent job of scheming against the Steelers. They made both Alex Highsmith and T.J. Watt relatively ineffective. They used screens early and ran the ball effectively. They also used RBs and TEs as wings to chip and pass off on both rushers.
-Levi Wallace is a liability. Every opposing coordinator knows it. Patrick Peterson isn’t much better. Wallace also sucks keeping contain too.
-Keeanu Benton is playing well and needs more snaps.
-Patrick Peterson is not a press man CB anymore and it showed on the late TD he gave up.
-Teryl Austin needs to be facing the same heat that Matt Canada is. He was badly outcoached by a rookie coordinator. Zero sacks and zero turnovers against a backup O-Line.
-Minkah Fitzpatrick was largely invisible today but did have 11 tackles to lead the team. That tells me he isn’t being allowed to freelance the way he likes to so therefore he has other responsibilities.
-C.J. Stroud threw for over 300 yards and is the first rookie QB to beat the Steelers in the last ten tries.
Special Teams
-Brad Wing was fine in place of Pressley Harvin III.
-As far as I’m concerned Chris Boswell is the MVP of the team. He was 2-2 on the day and continues to be the only guy playing at a high level.
Up Next
The Steelers host division leading Baltimore before heading into their bye week.
