The Pittsburgh Steelers were unable to follow up their thrilling Week 1 over the Cincinnati Bengals with a win in Week 2. Pittsburgh ended up losing 17-14 to the New England Patriots, as their holes that popped up in Week 1 managed to be too much to overcome against the Patriots.

While the defense largely did a good job keeping the Patriots offense in check, Pittsburgh's offense struggled to consistently move the football against New England's defense. It wasn't surprising to hear fans chanting for Kenny Pickett to enter the game given the offense's struggles throughout the day.

Things certainly weren't going to be any easier for the Steelers with T.J. Watt on the sidelines, and his loss proved to be too much to overcome against the Patriots. Let's take a look at the three Steelers players that were most responsible for the team's loss against New England and explore why that is the case.

3. Ahkello Witherspoon

Ahkello Witherspoon has been thrust into a starting cornerback role for the Steelers based on Pittsburgh's lack of viable options, and while he was OK against the Bengals in Week 1, he got torched in Week 2 against the Patriots. With Levi Wallace primarily on DeVante Parker and Cameron Sutton covering Jakobi Meyers, Witherspoon spent most of his day working against Nelson Agholor.

Agholor responded by putting together the best game of his short-lived career with the Patriots, as he racked up 110 yards and a touchdown on six catches, with Witherspoon typically being the guy in coverage. Agholor made a fool out of Witherspoon on his 44-yard touchdown, too, as he “mossed” Witherspoon on a deep throw from quarterback Mac Jones that led to New England's biggest play of the day.

Witherspoon's only counting stats of the day were a pair of tackles, and it's clear given Agholor's statline that Witherspoon did not hold up well in coverage throughout the game. Given Agholor's lack of success throughout his stint with the Patriots prior to this game, that only makes Witherspoon's struggles more concerning.

2. Gunner Olszewski

Gunner Olszewski got to face his old team for the first time since joining the Steelers this offseason, and his teammates were certainly happy that he appeared to be playing for his old team still. Olszewski did not do much in this game, as he fielded one punt and had one carry for 18 yards. But Olszewski's one fielded punt ended up being muffed, and it probably cost Pittsburgh this game.

Pittsburgh seemed to be working their way into the game, and forced a quick punt after getting a field goal on their first drive of the second half. But Olszewski ended up muffing Jake Bailey's punt right into Brendan Schooler's hands, and the Patriots scored a touchdown three plays later after starting the drive at Pittsburgh's ten-yard line.

The Steelers offense didn't do much in this game, but neither did New England's, and Olszewski practically gifting the Pats seven free points put Pittsburgh in a hole they couldn't climb out of. Olszewski certainly had his fair share of blunders during his time in New England, so Patriots fans were surely happy to see him help his old team out in this one.

1. Mitch Trubisky

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At the end of the day, the Steelers inability to win this game falls on Mitch Trubisky's shoulders. He didn't do nearly enough under center to give Pittsburgh a chance to win this game, and the Steelers coaching staff has to at least be considering whether Trubisky is the right option for them at quarterback this season.

In Week 1, Trubisky didn't have to do much because the Bengals turned the ball over five times, and even then, he still needed a full overtime period to pull out a victory over them. The Patriots didn't make nearly as many mistakes, and while they didn't play a perfect game of football, it didn't really matter because Trubisky showed no desire to push the football down the field in this game.

Trubisky's final line isn't the worst of his career (21/33, 168 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT) but he seemed far too focused on not making mistakes rather making winning plays. The Patriots defense never really had to play deep coverage because they knew Trubisky was sitting on short routes all game long. His longest pass of the day was a 23-yarder to George Pickens on a pointless drive right before halftime.

Trubisky failed to challenge the Patriots defense, and ultimately passed up a big opportunity to cement the starting quarterback job for himself this season. After leading a touchdown drive to close out the third quarter, Trubisky conducted two straight three-and-outs on his next two drives to allow New England to close the game. Pittsburgh could have won this game, but their failure to do so is largely because of Trubisky's poor quarterback play.