The Pittsburgh Steelers are reeling. The team has lost three games in a row following a disappointing defeat at the hands of the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15. The Colts beat the Steelers 30-13 in a game that didn't feel as if the score was even that close. The Steelers need to do some soul-searching, and work quickly to fix it. The team is frankly most to blame for this disappointing loss, and here are three people most to blame for the team losing that game.
MITCH THE SIGNAL CALLER
The Steelers put themselves in position to win in the first half. The team trailed the Colts 14-13 at halftime. The Steelers however didn't score at all in the second half of the contest. That falls on the quarterback, who has to help the team move the ball. Mitchell Trubisky is the leader of the team at the moment, and simply hasn't been able to get the job done. Trubisky finished the game with 169 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. That's just not a good stat line.
Trubisky actually lost his job near the end of the game as Mason Rudolph stepped in for the Steelers. He didn't do too well, either. The Steelers just don't have a reliable gunslinger like Ben Roethlisberger hanging around who can stand in the pocket and make the necessary throw, or run hard for a few extra yards and get a first down. If Trubisky keeps his job as the play caller of this team, he's got to make good throws and manage this offense.
NAJEE AND THE RUN GAME
Najee Harris is struggling to get yards right now. The Steelers running back finished the game with 33 yards on 12 carries. He hasn't rushed for more than 63 yards in a game in any of these last three losses for the team. Harris also has yet to run for 100 yards in a game this season, despite playing in all 14 contests. He's really not finding the right holes and making the right cuts.
The statistics are hard enough to stomach, but Harris also made a critical mistake in the Colts game. He fumbled the ball away on the team's first drive of the second half. As mentioned, the Colts held a one point lead and the Steelers were trying to take back momentum. What happened instead was a disaster, as the Harris turnover resulted in points for the Colts on their very next drive. That got the ball rolling in the wrong direction and ultimately led to a 17-point loss for the Steelers.
MIKE, YOU'RE THERE TO FIX IT
There could be a number of people really that are to blame, but the buck ultimately stops with the head coach. Mike Tomlin's job is to get this team ready to play, and more importantly, to win. The Steelers are a gold standard, literally, in the National Football League. The team isn't used to losing. It's remarkable to see how much success they have had since Tomlin got the job in 2007. He's never had a losing season as coach.
That's absolutely at risk here. The Steelers are now 7-7 and the team simply played with no passion, energy or urgency against the Colts. What makes it even more bizarre is that the Steelers came into this game after losing to TWO bad teams in the league, New England and Arizona.
Following the loss, Tomlin is promising to make changes, per the Associated Press. It seems it may have started already with the benching of Trubisky. That's overdue, quite frankly. Why wasn't Tomlin doing more to get this team ready for a game it absolutely needed to win against the Colts? He may be asking himself that question, as he accepted blame following the game.
Time is running out for the Steelers to get themselves in position for a trip to the AFC playoffs. The team is behind the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North, and a division rivalry game is on the horizon. The Steelers are frankly in a do or die situation.
The Steelers next play the Cincinnati Bengals on Dec. 23.
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