Steelers QB Kenny Pickett vents frustration about offensive struggles

Kenny Pickett couldn’t censor his frustration with the problems on offense.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbydbzmnr1bhxef player_id=none image=https://steelerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

It was a long day for Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett. The Philadelphia Eagles came after him all game long and sacked him six times in Pittsburgh’s 35-13 loss on Sunday. Pickett took a beating all game long and kept getting up and doing his best to keep the offense moving.

However, that was all in vain as the Steelers were unable to establish any sort of continuity on offense which in turn led to more stalled drives and only 13 points.

Pickett vented his frustration after the game and all but called out offensive coordinator Matt Canada and his inability to adjust and show any sort of flexibility or creativity with the offense.

“Something’s gotta change, right? It’s insane to keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect something different,” Pickett explained. “And we’ve been having these problems all year. So that has to get changed. That has to get fixed.”

How to the Steelers fix it? Don’t ask head coach Mike Tomlin because the only thing he talks about it staying the course and focuses on execution of the scheme and never the scheme itself.

But Pickett went into further detail about what he believes is the problem with the offense.

“Guys need to know what they’re doing. We need to study more. I don’t think we study enough as a group. There’s way too many penalties and stuff like that which we can control. It’s all mental. So for that to happen there’s really no excuse for that.”

The Steelers now have an extra week to try and see if these are problems that can be fixed this year or will the team just continue to spin its wheels for the next nine games.

[vertical-gallery id=520500]

[listicle id=522556]

Steelers RB Najee Harris says team lacks discipline and accountability

Najee Harris drops some harsh reality about this Steelers team.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbydbzmnr1bhxef player_id=none image=https://steelerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Eight games are in the books for the Pittsburgh Steelers and now the team sits at 2-6. When a team is playing this poorly there is likely to be some finger-pointing and blame being passed around. The frustration in running back Najee Harris has been bubbling to the surface for weeks and we saw it even more after this week’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Harris spoke after the game and was candid about where he thinks the team has fallen short.

“We lack a lot of stuff,” Harris said. “We lack a lot of experience, lack a lot of discipline, accountability. We lack a lot. We can’t go forward without correcting the little things that are affecting us. That is stuff we talk about every week.”
Ouch. Harsh truth but a truth nonetheless. This reflects directly onto the coaches and that means head coach Mike Tomlin. The reputation of Tomlin has always centered around discipline and accountability even though it often doesn’t manifest on the field. For the team’s starting running back to call the staff out publicly tells you he has tried to address this privately and it hasn’t worked.

[vertical-gallery id=518276]

[listicle id=522556]

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin tired of talking about coaching changes

Mike Tomlin isn’t going to keep answering questions about making coaching changes.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbydbzmnr1bhxef player_id=none image=https://steelerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

In his usual blunt style, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin discussed the Steelers 35-13 blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles as casually as he would a win. But one thing that did draw out the slightest bit of emotion from Tomlin was when he was asked once again if he would consider making any coaching changes during the bye week.

Obviously, when Tomlin is asked about the coaching staff, reporters are talking about offensive coordinator Matt Canada. The year has been up and down for Canada but it is hard to point to his playcalling this week as the reason the offense struggled so much. Nevertheless, the sheer level of inconsistency will always raise questions.

Tomlin and his staff now get the bye week to see if they can all get on the same page. Right now it feels like the players all want different things and those things may or may not overlap with what the coaches are trying to get across. This team needs far more maturity and accountability and this is something that is demonstrated by the staff and mirrored by the players.

[vertical-gallery id=520500]

[listicle id=522556]

Steelers fall to 2-6 after ugly loss to Eagles

The Steelers took another huge loss on Sunday.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbydbzmnr1bhxef player_id=none image=https://steelerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Thanks to a heavy dose of A.J. Brown and a relentless Philadelphia Eagles pass rush, the Eagles sent the Pittsburgh Steelers into their bye week with 35-13 blowout loss. Pittsburgh failed to top 20 points for the fifth time this season and the defense allowed 35 or more for the second time.

Offensively, the Steelers line got beat up all game long by the Philadelphia front. Tackles Chuks Okorafor and Dan Moore did rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett no favors and the line as a whole let the young QB take a beating all game long. The run game was stagnant until the outcome was decided with Najee Harris 32 yards on eight carries, with 18 of those coming on one touch.

On defense, it was all about Eagles receiver A.J. Brown. The Steelers had no answer for Brown in the first half as he had three long touchdown receptions. Pittsburgh got Ahkello Witherspoon back but he ended up being benched when he couldn’t keep up. The one bright spot was the play of defensive tackle Cam Heyward who played hard all game long.

Pittsburgh now sits at 2-6 and has an extra week to think about if there are any answers to the questions we continue to ask week after week.

[vertical-gallery id=520500]

[listicle id=522556]

Steelers vs Eagles: 6 takeaways from Pittsburgh’s blowout loss

There’s nothing positive to take from the Steelers loss.

For a quarter on Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers looked like they might be able to keep up with the Philadelphia Eagles. Then the second quarter happened and once again the wheels fell off for the Steelers. Pittsburgh now sits at 2-6 and has the bye week to sort out if this is a season that can be saved or even is worth saving. Here are our big takeaways from the blowout loss.

2 firsts on Steelers TD versus the Eagles

This was quite a touchdown by the Steelers.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbydbzmnr1bhxef player_id=none image=https://steelerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Late in the first quarter, the Pittsburgh Steelers tied things up with the Philadelphia Eagles in a most unique way. Wide receiver Chase Claypool took a quick handoff as we have seen before but instead of running it in, Claypool threw it to fullback Derek Watt for the score.

This marks both the first receiving touchdown of Watt’s career but also the first passing touchdown of Claypool’s career. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada has come under fire for his offense this season but you can see that if he loses his job this week, he isn’t going back without a fight.

[vertical-gallery id=520500]

[listicle id=522545]

Steelers vs Eagles: Today’s inactives for both teams

Here are the full inactives for both teams.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbydbzmnr1bhxef player_id=none image=https://steelerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Here are the full inactives for this week’s game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles. For the Steelers, they will be without starting kicker Chris Boswell and defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi. The team will also be minus cornerbacks Levi Wallace and Josh Jackson who have played quite a bit recently. Rookie Nick Sciba will replace Boswell and Carlos Davis was called up from the practice squad to replace Ogunjobi.

Steelers inactives:

QB Mason Rudolph

K Chris Boswell

CB Josh Jackson

CB Levi Wallace

G Kendrick Green

LB Mark Robinson

DT Larry Ogunjobi

Eagles inactives: 

S Reed Blankenship

QB Ian Book

CB Josh Jobe

RB Trey Sermon

G Josh Sills

[vertical-gallery id=520500]

[listicle id=522545]

Steelers vs Eagles official prediction for this week’s game

Cast your vote and tell us who wins this week.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbydbzmnr1bhxef player_id=none image=https://steelerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

The challenge this week for the Pittsburgh Steelers is steep. Taking on the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles in Philadelphia is going to be the greatest challenge the Steelers have faced all season. But as we have seen twice already this season, when it seems the Steelers are completely overmatched, they find a way to win.

Can it happen again this week? Cast your vote and let us know.

[crowdsignal poll=11230904]

As much as I want to look at the Bengals and Bucs games and see the optimism in this group stepping up and finding a way to win when everyone else has them written off, I can’t help but recall that Bills game. A strong-armed athletic quarterback literally dismantled the Steelers defense and I look for a slightly less painful version of that today.

Eagles-31, Steelers-21

[vertical-gallery id=520500]

[listicle id=522540]

Steelers vs Eagles: 4 keys to victory for Pittsburgh

The Steelers can beat the Eagles but everything has to go right to do it.

Anyone who thinks the Pittsburgh Steelers cannot beat the Philadelphia Eagles, they haven’t been paying attention this season. Pittsburgh may only have two wins but in both cases, they were heavy underdogs and seemingly completely overmatched but found a way. If the Steelers want to pull off another huge upset, here are the keys.