The Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings helped kick off Week 14 of the NFL season with their Thursday Night Football matchup. Having dug themselves into an early hole, the Steelers were unable to overcome the double-digit deficit, falling to 6-6-1 after their 36-28 loss.

Having gone down by as much as 29 points at one point, the Steelers came roaring back and got to within eight points, but a failed last-chance drive where they were unable to get into the end zone gave Pittsburgh their third loss in four games.

Najee Harris is not the problem – its the offensive line

A consistent theme that has been quite evident for the Steelers is that their first-round selection, RB Najee Harris, needs more help from the offensive line to maximize his efficiency. Thursday’s game was a perfect example of that, as the Alabama rookie was forced to make things work more on his own than rely on his OL.

Averaging third in rushing attempts (237), sixth in rushing yards (873), and tied for 13th in rushing TDs (6), Harris has helped revitalize a stagnant rushing attack that has been devoid of proven talent ever since Le'Veon Bell left. But the real tell-tale sign of this team’s struggles is in Harris’ yards-per-carry numbers, as he currently sits 42nd in the NFL at 3.7 yards per carry.

Inefficiency reflects poorly on Harris, but his 20/94/1 against the Vikings was a positive sign for things to come – as long as the OL picks up its slack.

Defense is no longer a dominant unit

21st in points per game (23.8), 27th in yards allowed per game (371.3), and 22nd in total points allowed (23.8) paint a very un-Steel Curtain-like picture for this defense, not a common occurrence for the Steelers.

T.J. Watt has faced injuries this year, the front seven has been wildly inconsistent, and the secondary has had its fair share of shortcomings, making this defense one of the more ran-on teams in the league (3rd-most rushing yards allowed per game). Dalvin Cook had a field day in his return from his shoulder injury, surprising many people with the quick turnaround he had after suffering a torn labrum.

Running for over 200 yards on 27 carries was a career performance for Cook, and one that the Steelers should be ashamed of letting occur – as long as this personnel continues to falter in stopping the run, this team will bleed yards on the ground.

Claypool’s on-field performance likely cuts his time in Pittsburgh short

Somehow, Chase Claypool continues to one-up himself on a weekly basis with his questionable decision-making, and Thursday’s game was no different.

After earning a few costly penalties that set back offensive drives for the Steelers, Claypool ended up celebrating a key first-down catch on the final drive of the game when Pittsburgh had no more timeouts remaining.

Having cost his team a lot of time on the clock, the Steelers were ultimately unable to cash in at the end of the game, as an accurate pass from Roethlisberger to rookie tight end Pat Freiermuth was knocked out by Harrison Smith, ending the comeback. With Claypool somehow only in his second year in the league, he is on a very short leash moving forward this season.

As the Steelers look to overcome a last-chance loss, there are plenty of areas that this team can improve on from their loss to the Vikings on their trek to try to make it to the postseason.