Category: 2022 Week 5 Steelers vs. Bills

Steelers WR Diontae Johnson gets petty over disgruntled fans

Diontae Johnson fires back at the fans.

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Steelers WR Diontae Johnson is having a tough Monday. Johnson spoke to the media the day after the Steelers had their biggest loss under the tenure of head coach Mike Tomlin. Johnson did his team no favors against the Buffalo Bills when he left a couple of big plays on the field.

But Johnson vented hard about the fans when asked about the criticism the team has been taking from them during this four-game losing streak. Even going so far as to call out the fans to come out and play if they are so good.

As petty as it is to call out the fans to come and play, it’s the old “real fans” line that will really burn him with the fanbase. Being a real fan in no way means you cannot be critical of that team. Many of the fans criticizing Johnson and the rest of the Steelers have seen this franchise at its very best and very worst. This team is loaded with talent and isn’t playing like it. This is a group with high expectations and tons of passion so the criticism isn’t going to go away.

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Former Steeler Ryan Clark calls out Pittsburgh: ‘This team gave up’

Ryan Clark never holds back when he talks about his former team.

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There is no more outspoken member of the NFL media than Ryan Clark. It just so happens he spent his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers so when he talks about them, he does not mince words. Clark called his old team out after their embarrassing loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday and pulled no punches.

For Clark, it all starts with head coach Mike Tomlin, who he calls his favorite coach of all time. However, he also said it’s his job to get the team up to play and he didn’t do it. Clark also said the only player on the team he would have wanted on his team is rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett. He also followed it up by saying the team quit against the Bills on Sunday.

This one might be hard to hear but he’s not wrong. Pittsburgh fell way behind early and you just saw the fight drain out of them. It was hard to watch but it was the reality of a team that doesn’t know how to win right now.

Let us know in the comments what you make of Clark’s comments.

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Winners and losers from the Steelers blowout loss to the Bills

Who stepped up and who fell flat this week?

After Sunday’s loss to the Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin didn’t want to talk about individual performances. He said in a loss this profound, they didn’t really do as much individual analysis. Luckily for all of you, we do. Here are our winners and losers from this week’s game.

Steelers HC Mike Tomlin leaves door open to roster/staff changes

Could Mike Tomlin make big changes this week?

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The reverberations from Sunday’s loss to the Buffalo Bills could be felt all over the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise in the coming days. Head coach Mike Tomlin was adamant in his postgame press conference that no man was safe after the team’s miserable performance. This means players and coaches.

Tomlin was asked directly about roster changes on defense after this group allowed Bills quarterback Josh Allen to throw for over 400 yards in just over three quarters of work. When asked about the litany of injuries, Tomlin just shrugged and said it was the next man up.

What was more surprising was when a follow-up question included the coaches, Tomlin did not shy away from including them in the discussion. At this point, there should be no coaches on the team who don’t feel their seats warming up with how poorly this team is playing.

Let us know in the comments what changes you would make this week to the roster or coaching staff.

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UDFA Jaylen Warren shines as Steelers best back on Sunday

Jaylen Warren looked very good in a losing effort on Sunday.

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There’s no denying the Pittsburgh Steelers run game is completely substandard. As a team, Pittsburgh rushed for only 54 yards but realistically when you fall so far behind so quickly, you don’t have much choice but to abandon the run game. This is what happened in Sunday’s blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills.

However, if there is a takeaway from the run game, it’s that undrafted rookie Jaylen Warren has an NFL set of skills and deserves more touches. Former first-round pick Najee Harris finished with only 20 rushing yards on 11 carries. Warren led the team in rushing with 24 yards on only five carries. Warren also outpaced Harris as a receiver one more catch and 23 more receiving yards. Warren’s 59 total yards trailed only wide receivers George Pickens and Diontae Johnson.

But it goes well beyond the boxscore. Warren has proven he has NFL skills that translate to a run game without a dominant offensive line. His vision allows him to break down opportunities quickly and his footwork and quickness keep him moving and make him a difficult target. In contrast, Harris is a huge target who does himself no favors with his upright, flat-footed rushing style.

No one is calling for Harris to be benched but we have to put away the narrative of the offensive line being so bad it doesn’t matter who is running the ball Elite running backs don’t require elite offensive lines. They find ways to make plays even when things aren’t ideal. This is where Warren is and where Harris needs to get to.

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Steelers G James Daniels steps up for Kenny Pickett after blown call

James Daniels drew a flag for defending his quarterback.

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You love to see it. You really do. Late in the third quarter of Sunday’s game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills, the Steelers were down big but still playing hard. On one particular play, Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett scrambled for a nice game and slid at the end. But as Pickett went down, Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin went in low and drilled Pickett.

This prompted Steelers guard James Daniels to come in with some crowd control, clearing Hamlin out and defending his quarterback. Daniels late hit drew a flag but the officials considered what happened to Pickett a clean play.

“He’s our franchise QB. I’m shocked they didn’t throw the flag,” Daniels said. We tend to agree. The play seemed pretty straightforward and we applaud for Daniels coming in and defending his quarterback. We defend it even more knowing the officials blew the call.

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Steelers HC Mike Tomlin on the huge loss: ‘We got smashed’

There was no easy way to talk about just how bad the Steelers were on Sunday.

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Sometimes you just have to take your lumps and move on. This is the attitude of Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin after the embarrassing 38-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Tomlin addressed the media after the loss and minced no words about how much the team was outplayed.

“We got smashed, and that is the only perspective I have,” Tomlin said. He also said he wasn’t going to sugarcoat the loss and they own the fact they weren’t good today.

This is the worst loss by the Steelers under the tenure of Tomlin. The loss drops the team to 1-4 with three more very difficult games before the team’s bye week. Tomlin has never had a sub-.500 season as the Steelers head coach but Sunday’s performance against Buffalo puts that streak in serious jeopardy.

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Steelers fall flat in blowout loss to Bills

Buffalo pushed the Steelers around in the 38-3 loss.

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If there was any hope of the Pittsburgh Steelers competing with the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, it got snuffed out when the Bills got a 98-yard passing touchdown on the team’s third play of the game. Pittsburgh got put on its heels and put up very little fight in the 38-3 blowout loss.

The one bright spot for the Steelers on the day is it seems they have their franchise quarterback and he has his favorite receiving target. On a day when guys like Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool were dropping passes no veteran should, Pickett found George Pickens reliable for a second week in a row. Pickett finished with 327 passing yards and Pickens led the team with six receptions for 83 yards.

Defensively is where the bad news got worse. This group continues to be lost without linebacker T.J. Watt and the problems were compounded by numerous other injuries. The patchwork group allowed Bills quarterback Josh Allen to throw for a mind-boggling 424 yards and Allen was benched with 10 minutes to play for 500 yards would have been a simple goal.

Pittsburgh now returns home and needs to regroup in time for Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to come town looked to extend Pittsburgh’s losing streak to five games.

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2 Steelers OUT in concussion protocol

The Steelers are running out of players.

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It seems nothing can go right for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills. The injury situation wasn’t great going into the game and now they just seem to be piling up during the blowout.

The latest are two players in the concussion protocol. Cornerback Levi Wallace took a big hit and had to leave the game early in the second half and now starting tight end Pat Freiermuth is out with a possible concussion from a hit later in the third quarterback.

The Steelers trail the Bills 31-3 at the end of the third quarter and this game was out of control very early on. We hope to get a full update on all the Steelers injuries from head coach Mike Tomlin.

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