[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbydbzmnr1bhxef player_id=none image=https://steelerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
This isn’t the first time the Pittsburgh Steelers have started the season 1-3 under head coach Mike Tomlin. In fact, this is the fourth time it’s happened under his tenure. In all the other instances, the team found a way to rally the season and finish at .500 or above.
2021 doesn’t feel at all like those previous seasons. This unit feels completely out of sorts on offense. Similar to how the offense looked in 2019 when Roethlisberger missed almost the entire year with an injured elbow.
After the Steelers 27-17 loss to the Green Bay Packers, Roethlisberger said something rather telling about his state of mind and the state of mind of this team going forward.
“I think this is going to test us all,” Roethlisberger said. “We need to look in the mirror and figure out what path we want to take.”
What are these paths, exactly? Is this merely a pull-it-together or fold-up the tents type of speech? The odds of the Steelers digging its way out of last place in the AFC North aren’t very good.
No one wants to even consider the idea of tanking but If the Steelers keep losing there has to be a tipping point where the focus turns to 2022 when Roethlisberger among others will leave and Pittsburgh will have a ton of cap space to spend.
[vertical-gallery id=499345]
[listicle id=499429]