I can’t say I didn’t warn you, Pittsburgh. In what I called a let down game last week, the Steelers played uninspired and sluggish in their 30-15 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
Pittsburgh Steelers Week Six Takeaways
The Defense Struggled Both on the Ground and Through the Air
Defensively, Ryan Tannehill kept the Steelers defense honest with a quietly impressive game. This allowed young running back Jay Ajayi to have a career day on the ground. Ajayi exposed a Steelers run defense missing key defenders Cam Heyward and Ryan Shazier for the afternoon. Ajayi was able to rush for 204 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries, by far the best performance of his young career.
Many would argue that a running game is only effective if the passing game is, and vice versa. The statement held true for Miami. Tannehill, although just throwing for 252 yards, completed 24 of 32 passes and did not turn the ball over. Tannehill was able to recover from his rough start to the season against a sloppy Steelers secondary that gave up everything except a touchdown.
Safety Robert Golden was second on the team in tackles with seven, indicative of how many times Miami was able to push the ball into the second level of the defense. Also, rookie cornerback Artie Burns who has impressed to this point, got burned on a play that set up Miami on the Steelers’ one-yard line. Although the secondary did not get scorched by any means, their inability to make big plays was certainly an issue.
Early on though, it was the classic case of Pittsburgh’s “bend but don’t break” defense. The Steelers defense was able to avoid a potential blowout by forcing three field goals to start the game. This type of play will be crucial against the New England Patriots,who always convert at a high rate in the red zone.
The Top Tier Steelers Offense Sputtered
Almost nothing clicked on offense, with only a few bright spots to look to. To start, Pittsburgh’s “Big B’s” failed to bring their talents to South Beach. Ben Roethlisberger followed his stellar performance last week with a downright ugly game. In addition to two bad interceptions, Ben was only able to muster 19 completions and 189 yards. Ben also had to play through a left knee injury the entire second half. Add in Antonio Brown’s four receptions and Le’Veon Bell only gaining 53 yards on the ground, and you have an unproductive day for a normally productive Steelers offense.
Unexpected Contributors
Although very few and far between, there were bright spots. Darrius Heyward-Bey showed major speed on a 60-yard touchdown sprint. Also, wide receiver Cobi Hamilton scored his first career touchdown, fresh off his signing from the practice squad.
A pessimist would say the offense can’t be effective unless completely healthy. An optimist will tell you Todd Haley didn’t want to give the Patriots anything to study going into next week.
Believe what you want but understand this; the Steelers performance this week was one to forget. The let down from this “Let Down Game” stings. However, there would be no better cure for this sting than to beat Tom Brady and the Patriots next week in what should be an epic AFC clash.
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