Category: 2023 Season Week 13 – Steelers vs Cardinals

Steelers DC Teryl Austin on injuries at ILB: ‘Nobody gives a (expletive)’

The Steelers have had a tough string of luck at inside linebacker.

When the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the New England Patriots on Thursday, they could have at least one new starting inside linebacker. Pittsburgh has seen its depth chart decimated by injuries to Cole Holcomb, Kwon Alexander and now Elandon Roberts.

Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin clearly isn’t interested in any excuses and was sure to point out that no one else cares either.

“Nobody gives a (expletive),” Austin said.

Holcomb and Alexander went on IR after going down in back-to-back weeks. Roberts suffered a groin injury last week and thinks he will be listed as questionable. This means guys like Blake Martinez and Myles Jack could be in the mix to play straight from the practice squad. Pittsburgh has been plagued by communication issues in large part because of the revolving door of defensive play callers at inside linebacker.

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Steelers WR Diontae Johnson says the quiet part out loud about last week’s loss

Diontae Johnson was honest when he said the Steelers took the Cardinals too lightly last week.

The media has been tough on Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson in recent weeks and rightfully so. But on Tuesday, Johnson stepped up to the mic in front of the media and was brutally honest about last week’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

Johnson admitted the team took Arizona too lightly and it showed all week in practice. This was the same thing running back Jaylen Warren said right after the game. Head coach Mike Tomlin has contended more than once that he doesn’t believe that the team took the Cardinals too lightly and that when players say this they are only responding a certain way to a question being asked a certain way.

This is nonsense. The players did not take this game seriously because the Cardinals came in 2-10 and it showed. Now the Steelers are 7-5, minus their starting quarterback and taking on another bad football team, only on a short week. Hopefully last week was a wake-up call and Pittsburgh comes ready to play against the New England Patriots.

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Cardinals blast Steelers in locker room after momentous win

Fun at the Steelers expense continued into the locker room for the Arizona Cardinals.

You could hear a pin drop in the Pittsburgh Steelers locker room after they were embarrassed by the Arizona Cardinals 24-10. But it was the opposite coming from the visitor’s locker room.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Brian Batko reported hearing one player yell, “Matt Canada was at the crib watching the game like, ‘I’m the problem, huh?'”

For years, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been known for blaring “Take Over Your Trap” in visitor’s locker rooms as they revel in the glory of a win. This time, it was the Cardinals in their house.

The Cardinals had every right to put the Steelers on blast. They expected Arizona to roll over, and instead, they played like it was their Super Bowl. As for Pittsburgh, it was sloppy from the second drive on — and that was before the rain fell in sheets.

The Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t bad, they’re awful. Even without Matt Canada, the offense could barely manage 300 yards, and their only touchdown came when it no longer mattered. It’s still Canada’s offense, though, and the Steelers are showing you can’t put lipstick on a pig — even if they dressed it up a little against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Next week, Pittsburgh faces a New England Patriots team that’s allowing just 219 yards and 21 points per game. If the Steelers can score 21 points, it’ll be a surprise.

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Steelers LB T.J. Watt vents about the league’s bias against him

T.J. Watt has had enough of the officials ignoring him being held on every play.

On Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt went out with an injury late in the game. An injury that was a direct result of Watt being held on a rush attempt that wasn’t called by officials.

Allowing opposing offenses to hold Watt without penalty has become a growing occurrence and you could tell after the game that Watt is fed up with it happening.

“The NFL has something going against me, so I don’t want to talk any more negatively toward them,” Watt said.  “I don’t know what I did, but I’ll leave it at that.”

Even a comment this benign will probably draw a fine from the NFL. It doesn’t change the fact that officials let opposing offenses maul Watt all game long and they do it with no fear of getting a flag thrown. Thankfully the injury Watt suffered on Sunday isn’t considered serious and he should be ready to go on Thursday night.

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Steelers RB Jaylen Warren says what the rest of his team won’t about overconfidence

Jaylen Warren says the team took the Cardinals too lightly.

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren said the quiet part out loud. The Steelers looked like a team sleepwalking on Sunday in their 24-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. It was easy to look at it and assume the Steelers didn’t take the Cardinals seriously and overlooked them resulting in a blowout loss.

This was a point head coach Mike Tomlin denied in this post-game press conference but Warren admitted to after the game. Warren said the problem was “taking them lightly, lighter than we should have” when speaking to reporters after the game. Warren played well finishing with 59 yards on only nine carries.

Personally, I appreciate the honesty of Warren and respect it. When Tomlin said he didn’t believe his team took this game too lightly, no one actually believed it and you had to wonder why Tomlin couldn’t just own his team’s problems.

Now this team is facing a final five must-win games if the team hopes to make the playoffs and might have to do it without quarterback Kenny Pickett for the duration.

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5 big takeaways from the Steelers loss to the Cardinals

The Steelers played an ugly football game on Sunday in all phases.

Sunday’s 24-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals is a season low for the Pittsburgh Steelers in terms of play. This was an ugly loss that ranks in the top five of worst losses we’ve seen during the tenure of head coach Mike Tomlin. Here are our big takeaways from the game.

Studs and duds from the Steelers blowout loss to the Cardinals

The Steelers were on the wrong end of this week’s game in a big way.

The Pittsburgh Steelers hit a new low on Sunday in a 24-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals came into the game at 2-10 and the Steelers were 7-4. But the two teams played like the records were reversed and it really does make you wonder if this Steelers team is as good as the wins or are as bad as these losses.

Here are this week’s studs and duds.

Steelers fall flat in blowout loss to Cardinals

Pittsburgh fell straight into a trap game Sunday and lost big.

On a day when the weather was ugly, the Pittsburgh Steelers were uglier. Even without all the injuries that piled up, this game was doomed from the opening kickoff after a flat, sloppy performance by all three phases. This all added up to an ugly 24-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

The Steelers lost linebacker Elandon Roberts, guard Isaac Seumalo and quarterback Kenny Pickett to injuries in the first half. Pickett and Seumalo were both injured on the same play and once they both went out, any hope the offense had was blown away by the high winds.

The game was delayed not once but twice due to heavy rain, lightning and win which ran the game more than an hour past the typical end. All this did was run out the vast majority of fans out of the stadium early so they weren’t forced to endure any more of this debacle than necessary.

This loss moves the Steelers to 7-5 and 0-4 in games this season decided by nine points or more. Pittsburgh either wins close or loses big and there’s no in between.

Even more bad news with all the injuries and the loss is the Steelers have to turn around now and play again on Thursday. The Steelers welcome the New England Patriots in a battle of two storied franchises playing some really ugly football this season.

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Steelers QB Kenny Pickett OUT for remainder of game

The Steelers now turn to Mitch Trubisky on offense.

If the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to mount a comeback against the Arizona Cardinals, they will do it without quarterback Kenny Pickett. Pickett suffered an ankle injury late in the first half and after a weather delay during halftime, was unable to get himself right so it will be Mith Trubisky for the rest of the game.

Pittsburgh is also without guard Isaac Seumalo for the rest of the game, He suffered a shoulder injury on the same play and is also out for the remainder of this contest. On defense, the Steelers lost starting inside linebacker Elandon Roberts in the first half with a groin injury.

With 7:18 remaining in the third quarter, the Cardinals lead the Steelers 17-3 and the game is in its second severe rain delay due to lightning.

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Steelers LB Elandon Roberts questionable to return with groin injury

The Steelers are very shorthanded at inside linebacker.

The Pittsburgh Steelers inside linebackers have been absolutely ravaged by injuries this season. The team was relying heavily on veteran Elandon Roberts this week against the Arizona Cardinals but according to the team, he is questionable to return after suffering a groin injury in the first half.

Pittsburgh was already minus Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander who are both gone for the season. If Roberts cannot return it will be Mykal Walker and Mark Robinson holding it down in the middle. Newly signed Blake Martinez is inactive.

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