The Pittsburgh Steelers had an opportunity in Week 15 to solidify themselves as one of the best teams in the NFL, but instead, the Philadelphia Eagles moved their win streak to 10 after handling Mike Tomlin's group by a score of 27-13. The loss was frustrating for fans in the Steel City due to the fact that it began a stretch of three games in just 11 days. The fan base is desperate to host a playoff game for the first time since the 2020 season, but the road gets slippery moving forward with the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs on the schedule. The unit will have to learn from the tough loss that occurred on the other side of Pennsylvania.
There were several things in Philadelphia that held the Steelers back, one of the occurrences coming early in the contest. After a fumbled punt, Pittsburgh was set up beautifully in the red zone. Instead of capitalizing, the offense was called for two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, which has drawn plenty of attention because of what happened between Darnell Washington and Darius Slay. The Steelers had to settle for a field goal.
Arthur Smith's group has had its moments in 2024 to this point, but a poor offensive showing in Philadelphia has raised some questions. Particularly, legendary quarterback and two-time Super Bowl champion Ben Roethlisberger noted some concerns on the most recent episode of his Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger podcast. He is a little worried about how things transpired against the Eagles.
"The part that concerns me is that we get two turnovers inside the 20; we get three points," Roethlisberger said. "That's concerning to me. Red zone offense is concerning. Our offense being a slow-starter - which I've been a part of slow starting, I get it."
One turnover Roethlisberger is referring to was the fumble on a punt, but the other was when Jalen Hurts coughed up the football. It wasn't exactly inside the 20 as Roethlisberger mentioned, but on the right side of the 50-yard-line. Those two turnovers did indeed produce just three points. That kind of production off of momentum-shifting takeaways isn't going to get the job done against the best teams in the league.
Any time arguably the best quarterback in franchise history speaks his opinion, it should warrant discussion. Pittsburgh has had problems for several years when it comes to scoring touchdowns after producing turnovers. Sunday against the Eagles was no different, and if the Steelers want to make a run in January, it is a flaw that needed to be improved upon.
One of the determining factors in the game's outcome was a fumble by Najee Harris when Pittsburgh was driving down the field. It was recovered by Philadelphia at its own 26-yard-line, but the offense marched right down the field to go up by 14. The Steelers would never recover from this, but might have had more of a chance if the offense scored more than just three points off of two early turnovers.
The little things matter when two good teams are going up against one another. Roethlisberger's comments are relevant because Pittsburgh didn't exactly do that during Sunday's game, and it ultimately ended up costing Tomlin and co. significantly.
Steelers Seriously Missed Key Offensive Player Against The Eagles
Things may or may not have been different if George Pickens was playing in Philadelphia, but his presence was certainly missed. The situation with Slay and Washington definitely put a damper on Pittsburgh's momentum, but overall, the offensive unit may have had a much better chance putting up more points, and specifically off of turnovers, if the star wideout was able to play. There's no doubt that the team needs him healthy and back on the field as soon as possible.
