The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered a brutal loss in Week 8 at the hands of the Jacksonville Jaguars. It is possible that this loss will have long-term ramifications as the Steelers lost multiple key players who are essential to their success going forward, most notably with a quarterback Kenny Pickett injury. This game was ugly all around for Pittsburgh. Their offensive play calling was hit or miss, and even when good calls were made, the offense failed to execute too many times.

All that being said, there were several good things that the Steelers can build upon going forward. Before Pickett went out with an injury, the Steelers showed flashes of a dangerous offense in the second quarter. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada also seemed to open things up a little more, starting the game with a shot down the seams that ended up just outside the reach of Diontae Johnson. 

If the Steelers offense is unleashed — while there will certainly be growing pains — it will benefit the team in the long run and we will be more likely to see them reach their full potential. When Pickett returns from injury, it will be essential to continue building upon these positives to make this game and this loss mean something for this team going forward. 

The Steelers need to play free and loose for four full quarters

The Steelers started working towards this goal today, and unfortunately for Pittsburgh, we’ll never know how this game would have gone if Kenny Pickett hadn’t gotten injured. 

In past weeks, and even dating back to last season, the offense had typically struggled for the first three quarters before turning it on in the fourth. The play calling stops being so vanilla in the fourth quarter, and Pickett is given plenty more leash to throw the ball down the field, including down the middle of the field. 

We saw a start to this against Jacksonville, with a deep shot down the seam to Diontae Johnson that the Steelers were unable to complete. That as a positive sign, though, that they took a chance.

They were also moving the ball well during the two-minute drill to end the half until Pickett’s injury, which tracks with Matt Canada unleashing the offense more in time-sensitive situations. 

If the Steelers offense can continue building on this and play their two-minute drill and fourth-quarter offense for an entire game, we’ll have a completely different outlook on this team and their ceiling.

The defense is elite, but Pittsburgh can’t lean on them too much

As they have done for so often this season, the Steelers defense kept them hanging around for most of this game. 

There was only one significant blunder by the defense, a blown coverage, and a misplayed angle that led to a touchdown strike from Trevor Lawrence to Travis Etienne.

The Steelers defense forced multiple turnovers, kept the Jaguars out of the endzone, held them to field goals, and made life very unpleasant for Lawrence.

Joey Porter, Jr. needs more playing time 

The Steelers' secondary has been struggling a bit of late, with Patrick Peterson clearly losing a step and Levi Wallace giving up too many big plays.

With Minkah Fitzpatrick going down with an injury against the Jaguars, Peterson’s positional flexibility will come in handy as he’ll be able to slide over to play safety if Fitzpatrick misses any time. Playing safety will be a good thing for Peterson, as it will help mask the step he lost by allowing him to play over the top while the play develops in front of him as opposed to having to mirror wideouts step for step and run with them down the field.

This also has a silver lining because it opens up more playing time for rookie second-round cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who looks impressive at times and deserves more playing time.

George Pickens needs to see more targets

More often than not, great things happen for the Steelers offense when George Pickens is targeted early and often. 

This was certainly the case in Week 8, as even with limited targets Pickens made magic happen with his few opportunities, jumping through two defenders to find the endzone. 

There is certainly room for Pickens to continue improving. One particular play comes to mind, where Pickens made what seemed to be an incredible catch on the sideline while contorting his body and tapping his toe on the sideline. However, he stood and admired his play for a moment, soaking in the attention of the crowd. Unfortunately for Pickens and the Steelers, this gave Jacksonville time to review and challenge the play, and it was ultimately overturned.

The team needs to get healthy

The reality for the Steelers is that there is not a ton they can do to help themselves in this department. It is just what happens in the NFL. This team needs to get healthy and they need to get healthy fast in order to continue to compete. The Steelers must hope that Kenny Pickett is able to come next week and that Minka Fitzpatrick is back as soon as possible. On a short week, though, the chances are slim.

Losing your starting quarterback and arguably your second-best defender is never a good thing. Fitzpatrick is the anchor of the Steelers' secondary and an integral piece to their defense alongside TJ Watt. The Steelers need him back on the field as soon as possible.