The Steelers Are At A Crossroads In Indianapolis
Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
The Pittsburgh Steelers still sit as the No. 6 seed in the AFC playoff picture. Even after the last two debacles against the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots at home, they are still right in the thick of the race. A loss on Saturday to the Indianapolis Colts would serious imperil their chances.
The Colts sit just one spot behind Pittsburgh with the same 7-6 record. In total, there are six teams breathing down the Steelers’ necks, all with 7-6 records on the season.
With reports coming out daily about the future of the franchise, the team from the Steel City is at a crossroads. A win on the road against the Colts would go a long way to right the ship.
Defense Must Return To Form
The defense’s dysfunction has been the most disappointing aspect of the last two games, which were chock full of heartache. For most of the season, the defense has kept the game close at least and often added to the score themselves. That has been the recipe for success in every Steelers win this season.
Injuries have decimated the middle linebacker position. Pass coverage and run fits that were taken for granted early on in the season are now being exploited by opposing offenses. The difficulty of just lining up properly and having the right number of guys on the field have becoming overwhelming over the past weeks.
The Colts were outmactched by an average Cincinnati Bengals defense, running for 46 yards and racking up a paltry 272 yards in total. Pittsburgh has an opportunity to assert their will against Indy; if they can play on the Colts line of scrimmage, they will be able to exploit the Colts’ extremely poos pass protection.
The Offense Must Take Chances
The only time we saw anything resembling a modern-day NFL offense was against Cincinnati, the week Matt Canada was fired. Kenny Pickett set the tone early by throwing the ball down the middle of the field and never stopped attacking that space. Pittsburgh will again need to take those chances to be effective on Saturday.
Mitch Trubisky will be back under center and he must play better than he did against the Patriots. While pushing the ball down the field will help keep defenses honest, he also must know when to do that. 4th and 2 from your own 49 with the game on the line, would not be an instance where you take that opportunity.
The deep 4th & 2 shot. Thoughts? #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/h9nBPzG6QU
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) December 8, 2023
The offensive line needs a big bounce-back game. New England shut down Pittsburgh’s running game, negating both Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris. Too often Patriot defenders were living on the Steelers’ side of the line and simply shed blocks to make tackles.
They have to get back to playing physical and have a gameplan that shows power and confidence, not one that’s simply reacting to what the opposing defense is doing.
Tomlin Must Take Charge
Over the course of the season, we have seen cracks in the Steelers’ armor that are rare if not unheard of in Pittsburgh. Players are making their frustrations known through the media.The rumors say head coach Mike Tomlin has lost the locker room.
The firing of Canada seemed to spark the locker room, but they’re back to square one after a pair of stinging losses. Going on the road against a quality opponent isn’t ideal for a struggling locker room.
Tomlin is known as a master motivator. He must get the guys to put aside their frustrations and go win. He has always been at his best in the face of adversity. Saturday on the road on national TV will put that reputation to the test.
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