:Steelers receive a sad news the have sack their head coach after lose their first match…
Steel City is collapsing.
Pittsburgh fell to the Colts 30-13 on Saturday, losing their third straight game. Instead of building on early leads, the team became equally ineffective and prone to errors as the game went on.
“Let’s speak the truth. We’re a football team that is inherently bad right now,” head coach Mike Tomlin declared after the loss. “The football we’re playing is losing. For that, I accept responsibility. I don’t think we’re performing basic things well enough when we lose football. We’re not. We’re shifting the object around. We face severe penalties. It’s not how we play in circumstances. I’m just letting you know that.”
Although Tomlin stated that “everything’s on the table” in terms of improving the team’s strategy, it’s encouraging that he is willing to accept what was evidently demonstrated on Saturday in Indianapolis. However, this season’s possibilities for significant adjustment are running out.
In their first encounter with the Colts, the Steelers appeared to have found something. After a brief three-and-out, Mitchell Trubisky rallied the team with a 12-play, 54-yard scoring drive. During that drive, he completed 4 of 5 passes for 43 yards and punched in the touchdown with a 1-yard run, displaying his greatest play of the day.
Next, the defense forced its own three-and-out, and the special teams set the stage for a potential runaway by stopping Indy’s punt and
However, just like Pittsburgh’s now-fading hopes of making the playoffs, the momentum vanished quickly after that.
The Colts responded to the 13-point deficit with a 75-yard touchdown drive led by quarterback Gardner Minshew. The Steelers then forced a third consecutive possession to go over 70 yards, this time allowing a touchdown that proved to be the game’s final lead change, even though they staged a goal-line stand to thwart a further 70-yard attempt that followed a Trubisky interception.
Pittsburgh’s offense managed just 67 more yards after halftime, trailing 14–13, and the defense was unable to stop an offense that had lost wide receiver Michael Pittman and running back Zack Moss in the first half.
The Steelers experienced attrition of their own after witnessing safety. Minkah Fitzpatrick left the game due to a knee injury, and Damontae Kazee was sent off for the hit that caused Pittman to be knocked out. The other defensive stars remained mute though.
T.J. Watt failed to apply pressure in the latter two quarters despite having taken two of Pittsburgh’s three sacks (all of which came in the first half) to increase his season total to sixteen. Trey Sermon and Tyler Goodson, the Colts’ backup running backs, were able to do anything they wanted on the ground, which contributed to a large portion of it. Both of those players averaged at least 5.2 yards per carry and totaled 155 yards on 28 carries.
The Colts didn’t need to pass much to move the ball in the second half; their 8:57 drive, which featured 13 runs and one throw for a total of 27 unanswered points, was the clearest example of this concept.