Don’t overcomplicate discussion of what’s wrong with the Steelers. They stink, and are poorly coached. Anything beyond that is mere detail.
But if you want to drill down, let me count the ways:
*Ben Roethlisberger was real bad last night.
*Antonio Brown was crap. He can’t get separation out of the breaks
.*James Conner isn’t a No. 1 running back in the NFL.
*The offensive line is a fraud this season, and Alejandro Villanueva is the biggest fraud of all.
*JuJu Smith-Schuster dropped a touchdown. Baltimore’s Brandon Carr made a good play to knock the ball loose. But Smith-Schuster is allowed to make a better play.
*Vance McDonald just handed the ball to Baltimore’s Tony Jefferson in the first quarter. That gifted the Ravens a touchdown.
*Cam Heyward and Stephon Tuitt are supposed to be good, but are invisible.
*T.J. Watt hasn’t got near the quarterback since Week 1.
*The Steelers’ defensive backs are so bad, defensive coordinator Keith Butler is afraid to blitz. Everyone drops into coverage, and the result is death by a thousand cuts.
*Rookie S Terrell Edmunds was wandering around like he was lost.
*Joe Haden is supposed to provide glue. But he came unstuck on Baltimore’s first touchdown.
*The Steelers start slow more often than not, and clearly lack focus.
*The Steelers have lost four of their last five home games. Yuck. (The one victory was a meaningless Week 17 game against Cleveland last season.)
But, again, that’s mere detail. The front page is: The Steelers stink, and are poorly coached.
The Steelers won’t bounce back. They won’t make the playoffs.