The Pittsburgh Steelers appeared to have turned a positive corner after enduring the challenges of a Matt Canada-led offense for the first 11 weeks of the 2023 NFL season. Following a brutal 13-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 11, the Steelers finally had enough and fired Canada, and in the ensuing Week 12 game, Pittsburgh looked like a reborn team as it put together its best offensive performance in years. Unfortunately, the good energy was only good enough for one win, as the Steelers found out with a dismal Week 13 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. According to Jaylen Warren, though, maybe the Steelers didn't take the Cardinals seriously.
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Pittsburgh Steelers running back, Jaylen Warren gives his team a much-needed burst on offense thanks to his quickness and acceleration.
Steelers May Have Looked Past Cardinals In Loss
There were no lessons to gain from this one, and whether you watched or played in the Steelers' Week 13 defeat against the Cardinals, it felt awful. Perhaps if the same struggling offense had shown up in Week 12, then this loss wouldn't feel like such a let-down. Despite having everything right where the Steelers needed it to strengthen their 2023 playoff positioning, they might have simply overlooked the Cardinals as a competent NFL team.
Warren, speaking to reporters after the 24-10 loss, was candid about what may have led to this surprising collapse. There is a tendency for Mike Tomlin to drop games like this, where everything is poised for dominance, but according to Warren, the Steelers just missed the ball on this one. After being informed by Brooke Pryor that the Cardinals had been the third-worst rushing defense in the league, Warren admitted that the stunning loss could have been due to a lack of attention to the task at hand.
"I didn't know they were the third worst, but yeah, I guess just taking them lightly -- lighter than we should have."
While it's jarring enough to hear a player open up about an NFL team simply overlooking the talents of an opponent, it certainly explains the performance that the Steelers left on the field during Sunday's debacle. When you have one of the most expensive defenses in the NFL and a head coach who is considered to be elite, the expectations are much higher than hoping you don't take a team lightly when you are preparing for them. Warren, in a follow-up, was asked whether the issue was in the preparation, and that was why the game unfolded as it did.
"Yeah, could be."
As disappointing as the result of Sunday's game was, it is even more upsetting to hear that the Steelers didn't take full advantage of the opportunity they had before them. Now, sitting at 7-5 with the postseason much less assured, Kenny Pickett injured, TJ Watt all sorts of beat up, and all the positivity from Week 12 lost in the wind, it's going to take a much better effort to put this one behind them.
Matt Freed / AP Photo
Pittsburgh Steelers running back, Jaylen Warren (30) runs for a touchdown in the first half of an NFL preseason football game against the Buffalo Bills, in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023
Steelers Expected To Beat The Cardinals
There isn't anything wrong with confidence when you can back it up; otherwise, it's going to end badly. Pittsburgh looked at their Week 13 game against the Cardinals during the week's preparation and saw a team they fully believed they could handle without much issue. While that may have been true about the Steelers team that showed up in Week 12 of 2023, whoever played in Week 13 was a far cry from victorious.
Michael Ainsworth / Associated Press
Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin has a terrible habit of losing games his team should win without much issue, and it's causing problems.
Warren has been a catalyst for the Steelers rushing attack in 2023 as the perfect compliment to Najee Harris, but on Sunday, that wasn't enough to launch the Steelers to victory. NFL players should always enter games believing they will win, but it should be backed up by effort and preparation, neither of which seemed to present in Week 13 of 2023. Losing to the Cardinals is embarrassing enough, but to know that you put the worst version of yourselves out there makes it much worse. Warren admitted that the team expected to come into the matchup and win after being asked if this feeling was the lowest he's felt.
"No, not lowest of the low. It's just I think we expected to win instead of wanting to work to win. So just get back in the lab and get right."
This is the NFL, and if the 2023 Steelers want to succeed, then it will take actual work instead of just wishing it into existence. Hopefully, with a short week and another trap game against the 2-10 New England Patriots waiting for them in Week 14 of 2023, Pittsburgh will take this one more seriously.
What are your overall thoughts on Warren's remarks? Comment below.
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