Mike Tomlin’s weird analogies won’t help the Pittsburgh Steelers win football games. And the fans can call for Russell Wilson until they're blue in the face. But none of that will change the brutal loss to the Cowboys in Week 5, and there’s plenty of Steelers blame to go around.
It starts with quarterback Justin Fields, trickles down to Tomlin, weaves its way through a porous run defense, and winds down to a receiver seemingly on vacation. The Steelers lost 20-17 to the Cowboys in the final seconds as Dak Prescott hit a fourth-down touchdown pass from four yards out to cap a 15-play, 70-yard drive.
The Steelers had several chances to stop the Cowboys on the drive but didn’t have the manpower up front. Despite having limited time, the Cowboys casually ran the ball against the Steelers' soft defense during the drive. Dallas had eight running plays in the sequence, meaning it ran more than passed.
Steelers QB Justin Fields didn’t get job done
Fields started the year with three straight wins. However, he and the Steelers came up short in a 27-24 decision against the Colts.
Against the Cowboys, Fields looked plain awful. He authored a lackluster 15 of 27 effort for a pitiful 131 yards. Fields did manage two touchdown passes but one came via a shuffle pass to a tight end inside the 5-yard line. Not a lot of passing skill involved there.
And that seemed to be the problem against the Cowboys. Fields didn’t show any signs of accuracy. It appeared he didn’t trust his own passes at times, considering the off-target heaves in the general direction of receivers.
And consider this, too. The Cowboys played without their two best pass rushers — linebacker Micah Parsons and end DeMarcus Lawrence. Fields should have been confident in the pocket, but he couldn’t make quick decisions. He held on to the football and helped the weakened Cowboys’ pass rush.
It's easy to see this as a game where Russell Wilson would have led the Steelers to a victory. Just a little more accuracy would have put the Cowboys in a position where they couldn’t win at the end.
Justin Fields couldn't take advantage of Cowboys' miscues
Part of the reason for this came in the form of Dallas gifts. The Cowboys turned the ball over three times, and nearly a fourth at the goal line that would have sealed a Steelers’ win. When a team is that generous, it doesn’t take a great game to beat them. But Fields played so poorly, it kept the Cowboys in the game. The Steelers managed only 226 yards against a Cowboys’ defense that had been demolished in recent weeks.
Oddly, Fields blamed the loss on the Steelers’ mistakes, according to espn.com.
“I think the reoccurring thing is just shooting ourselves in the foot,” Fields said. “Penalties, false starts, it’s just coming down to execution.”
Fields didn’t display what Tomlin recently identified as a strong point, according to nbcsports.com.
“I like his steady demeanor,” Tomlin said. “I like that in a leader. He doesn’t ride the emotional roller coaster when things are going good, or things are going bad. Guys can rally around that. He’s steady.”
Oops.
What does Mike Tomlin like about Fields' efforts?
But Tomlin said he liked the fourth-quarter plays by Fields against the Colts, according to steelers.com.
“I didn't feel any blinking,” Tomlin said of Fields. “Justin, we've talked about his steady demeanor in recent weeks in terms of the things that I've grown and know and understand about him. I think it's really on display in moments like that.”
Still, the setback against the Cowboys clearly opens the door for Wilson to move in as the starting quarterback. Whether he will be better than Fields remains to be seen, but the Steelers have to try.
LB Patrick Queen a weak link?
When a team spends $41 million for three years on a player, results aren’t hoped for, they’re expected. Through the first four games, Queen has missed tackles, and been unable to perform well in coverage.
And it didn’t get better against the Cowboys. It turned into a poor night for a guy who is supposed to be a leader. Queen came up with nine tackles, but the Steelers simply weren’t tough enough. The Cowboys entered the game ranked last at running the football, but gained 109 yards on 31 attempts. The Steelers managed to turn Rico Dowdle into a viable threat, surrendering 87 yards to him on 20 attempts.
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Queen didn’t lead well Sunday night. The Steelers needed more and he didn’t deliver.
WR George Pickens disappeared
Viewers may have wondered at times if Pickens suffered an injury. The Steelers didn’t seem to be targeting him. And as it turned out they didn’t even have him on the field very often for who knows what reason.
But the Steelers’ third-year man is the best receiver on the team. It’s up to the quarterback to get him the ball. Fields looked lost in trying to get that done Sunday night.
Pickens still doesn’t have a touchdown catch on the season. And for a 6-foot-3, 200-pounder with a great catch radius, that’s a terrible statistic.
And before blaming the coaches for Pickens’ poor play against the Cowboys, listen to Tomlin’s comments on why Pickens didn’t get on the field as much, according to Sports Illustrated.
“We just wanted to kind of minimize his reps in an effort to get more productivity,” Tomlin said. “We're just trying to manage in terms of the totality of the big picture. He wasn't less of a focal point in terms of our intentions of what we wanted to do offensively.”
So Pickens needs to get in better shape, eat more energy food, or perhaps just give more effort. Whatever the case, his lack of production opened the door for a Steelers’ loss and the Cowboys barged right on in.
