Steelers vs. Browns Takeaways: Too Much Pressure on the Defense
CLEVELAND -- The Pittsburgh Steelers fell to 1-2 following a loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 3. It was another offensive struggles for Pittsburgh, which led to a tired and defeated defense.
Overall, another disappointing performance for the Steelers. With only three games behind them, there's plenty of time to turn things around. But there needs to be something that clicks for Pittsburgh.
Leaving FirstEnergy Stadium, there were a lot of takeaways.
Noah Strackbein's Takeaways:
Still No Leash on Trubisky
Mike Tomlin made it very clear there will be no change at the quarterback position. That being said, with nine days between now and their next game, there are no more excuses for the offense not to click.
If Trubisky fails to lead a full-game of successful offense, the Steelers have to give Kenny Pickett a chance as the starter. If they lose to the Jets, the city of Pittsburgh will start giving up - and the Steelers organization is not going to deal with a team that looks lifeless.
Trubisky's leash is now present.
Defense Will Keep Getting Worse
You cannot expect a defense to play over 100 minutes of football in three weeks and still be effective. These guys are tired, and the longer they face quality running teams with efficient breaks, the worse they're going to get.
It's not the time for anyone to complain about the Steelers defense. This group cannot be shamed until they have actual time to regroup during the ball game.
Think about it, the opening drives led to nothing for the Browns. Once the offense started going four-play drives, things faded. That's going to happen each week until the offense figures it out.
Stephen Thompson's Takeaways:
Defense Needs to Be Perfect
The Steelers' defense was always supposed to be its calling card, but through three games it's clear that the team needs more if they want to make any sort of run at the playoffs. They can survive as competitive with the way the defense is playing right now, but unless T.J. Watt comes back soon and is as immediately impactful as he was before tearing his pectoral muscle, that's all they will be.
No, it's not fair to ask that unit to play with the same force against a runner like Nick Chubb for a full 60 minutes while your offense fails to make anything meaningful happen in the second half, but that is where the Steelers are. It is a difficult pill to swallow but until the offense follows through on its promises to get better, the defense will need to be perfect for this team to win.
Tackling Dooms Fatigued Defense
In consecutive weeks, the Steelers have been bullied by their opponents in the second half. Both the Patriots and Browns used strong running back tandems to drain time off of the clock while holding a lead. Forget the pride that this team takes in stopping the run - in back-to-back weeks, being able to stop the run has been imperative to winning.
Poor tackling efforts prevented the Steelers from getting necessary stops against Damien Harris, Rhamondre Stevenson, Kareem Hunt and Chubb but those poor efforts appear to be a direct relative of fatigue. Compare tape from Week 1 to Weeks 2 and 3 - with time the tackling has become worse and now a formula for sinking the Steelers is becoming widely available for the league to see.
If you can weather a tight game early, the Steelers will give you enough chances with the ball to wear down their own defense.
Aggressive Mistakes Reflect Improvement
The Steelers' offense had been so blandly conservative through two games that it almost made you okay with a turnover so long as it came while Mitch Trubisky and company were being aggressive.
Trubisky and the offense played turnover-free football against the Browns and - imagine this - did it while being aggressive. Matt Canada dialed up some more deep shots for Trubisky against the Browns and they hit when looking beyond the sticks in the first half.
Those big plays failed to materialize in the second half as Cleveland took a lead and was able to play more conservatively themselves, but this was still the offense's best performance of the year it's no coincidence that it came on a night when Canada took the training wheels off.
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Steelers Stall in Second Half, Losing to Browns in Week 3
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George Pickens Makes Jaw-Dropping Catch vs. Browns
Browns CB Shows Love to Dwayne Haskins Ahead of TNF
Film Room: Trubisky and Canada to Blame for Steelers Offense
Damontae Kazee Suspended Three Games
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