Flavell's Five Thoughts: Same Old, Same Old for Steelers
The gloomy, rainy weather Pittsburgh Steelers fans woke up to in the morning persisted through the afternoon and served as a symbol for their Week 8 performance on offense. The defense did its typical thing where it bends but doesn't completely break while forcing three Jacksonville Jaguars turnovers.
Questionable calls were made by the referees. Quarterback Kenny Pickett exited the game due to injury, as did Minkah Fitzpatrick. Neither of these injuries bode well for the Steelers' long-term goals if they miss extended periods of time.
After another week of the same old, same old for the Steelers, let's try and extract some different things to discuss in this week's Flavell's Five.
The Diontae Johnson Experience
Pinning this game squarely on the shoulders of Diontae Johnson simply isn't fair. He did lead the Steelers in receiving with 85 yards on eight catches and 14 total targets. Johnson ended up being a focal point of the Steelers' passing game. However, he also did things that make you shake your head in disbelief.
The Steelers love nothing more than a simple up-the-middle run to open every game. Instead, they came out firing, sending Johnson on a go-seam route. Pickett actually delivered a pretty ball, hitting him in stride, and the ball hit Johnson's hands and fell to the ground. It's likely he doesn't score on that play, but to set the tone early in the game would've been a welcomed change. No one could guess what the offense could've done after that had they completed it.
On the Steelers' field goal drive, Pickett had Johnson wide-open underneath in the end zone, but Johnson slipped, and the pass fell incomplete.
Johnson also bailed out Mitch Trubisky on the touchdown drive when he scrambled around looking for someone to throw to and eventually threw the ball back across the field off of his back foot on a questionable throw that somehow worked.
Johnson is a talented receiver who has a penchant for dropping passes and running east-to-west instead of getting upfield. Johnson and George Pickens can make one solid receiving tandem, but Johnson certainly doesn't come without frustrations.
Quick Turnaround Doesn't Bode Well for Big Injuries
Losing Pickett and Fitzpatrick isn't good for the Steelers. There is no way to positively spin it.
In the case of Pickett, Trubisky continues to show why he hasn't quite been able to stick as a starter in the NFL. He tends to turn the ball over every time he gets a chance to play and checked down on just about every throw down by ten points with less than two minutes on the clock. Pickett hasn't quite been Tom Brady, but he at least wins games, even if it isn't pretty.
Fitzpatrick is the leading tackler on the defense and is by far the best playmaker in terms of making plays on the ball. Outside of T.J. Watt, he is the most important player on the defense. No one can replace his production.
Demontae Kazee and Keanu Neal aren't awful football players, but they are replacement-level players and are now starting in the secondary together. The Steelers' secondary is also fragile. It isn't an ideal situation.
With the Tennessee Titans coming to Acrisure Stadium on Thursday night, the Steelers may be without two important players, and that might be the difference in that game.
Lack of Pickens Yet Again
Geroge Pickens is 22 years old and is a budding star in the NFL. He is a unicorn. The catches he makes take ridiculous athleticism, and his ability to run with the ball is pretty high-end, too. In Week 8, the Steelers targeted him just five times. His lone catch of the day was his 22-yard touchdown, where he somehow made two should-be tacklers miss.
Having Johnson and Pickens as a duo is a good start. They're both good wideouts and deserve the ball. However, having Johnson get 14 more targets than Pickens when Pickens has proven he can make crazy catches. They aren't going to get many one-on-one looks with Pickens, but they can still get him the ball.
Instead of drawing up plays to throw into triple coverage intending passes for Allen Robinson, maybe the Steelers should find ways to get Pickens the ball more often, even if it is with more underneath routes.
Offensive Line Play is Very Underwhelming
The "Pickett Fence" certainly hasn't kept the dogs out of the yard to this point of the season. Seemingly, every time Pickett drops back, the offensive line allows guys into his pocket. He was sacked once and hit countless others on just 16 dropbacks. It wasn't good.
The running game didn't fare much better. On just 12 carries from running backs, they gained 32 yards. In a rain game, the Steelers didn't have enough confidence to actually get their run game going and get their offensive lineman to try and get some push.
The Steelers have overhauled their line over the past two seasons and it seems to have been to no avail. Mason Cole has been bad in multiple facets. Chuks Okorafor doesn't look like he's much of a solution at tackle. Dan Moore Jr. left the game early. Things don't look great for that unit as a whole.
Bury the Tape and Move On
Thursday Night Football is a blessing and a curse for players. The blessing is the mini-bye that comes following the game with the three extra off-days. The curse is obviously the quick turnaround following the Sunday game beforehand.
Will Levis made his NFL debut this week and casually tossed four touchdowns, three of which went to DeAndre Hopkins. The Titans are coming in looking to build off of that game, while the Steelers will likely be coming in banged up and featuring a backup quarterback. They don't have time to dwell on the stink sandwich they laid.
The NFL is not a forgiving league, and no one will feel bad for the Steelers if they go into Thursday night unprepared and underperforming. We'll see how they respond in a few days.
