The frustration over the Pittsburgh Steelers' loss to the Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football has fans in their feelings. They went from calling the team possible Super Bowl contenders, to resuming the chants calling for the firing of Head Coach Mike Tomlin. While Tomlin certainly takes some of the blame for his questionable game management decisions, there is blame to go around. One Steelers insider believes the fact that there were mistakes in all three phases of the game is actually a good sign for the team going forward.
Steelers.com
Steelers' Mike Tomlin speaks after the loss to the Browns.
Mark Kaboly from The Pat McAfee Show said that this Steelers team has seemed more "mature" than it has in recent years. He noted that while Cameron Heyward said the team has experienced adversity all season, they haven't lost a game to a team as bad as the Browns or lost any game this season where every player bears responsibility. That new, mature look seemed to fall apart when facing such a frustrating loss.
Kaboly said that there was a lot of less-than-desirable behavior after the game. George Pickens fought with Greg Newsome and then made ridiculous comments about the loss after the game. Minkah Fitzpatrick and Najee Harris, two of the team's leaders, refused to speak with the media. Heyward chipped at an official, and DeShon Elliott got angry that Joey Porter Jr. didn't wear a shirt to an interview.
"Now, I understand that these are all first-world problems in terms of football drama, especially coming of a disappointing loss, but it was quite a noticeable difference than what we've seen out this Steelers team before Cleveland and then after Cleveland," wrote Kaboly. "What does this all mean? Right now, absolutely nothing and nothing should be read into it... but keep it in the back of your mind."
He went on to say that what we learned about the team during the game is not as important as what we will learn. According to Kaboly, other teams have been destroyed by much less than this loss. How they respond to this adversity will tell if they are "contenders or pretenders."
Kaboly believes it is a good thing that you cannot just point a finger at one player or position and put the blame on them. He believes it will prevent them from becoming 2009's "Unleash h**l in December Steelers."
That year, after a crushing loss to the Ravens, Tomlin vowed that the team would "unleash h**l in December," but that didn't happen. Instead, his comment fired up the then-Oakland Raiders, who beat them the following week; they also went on to lose to the Browns.
"Who knows how this turns out, but I can pretty much assure you this: This team isn't going to implode like the infamous 'Unleash h**l December' squad of 2009. And I can pretty much guarantee you that there isn't going to be fights in the locker room between the wide receivers and quarterbacks, or tackles and offensive coordinators."
According to Kaboly, Russell Wilson is the reason it won't be imposed. He said that a big part of why Tomlin wanted Wilson is because of his "intangibles." He said it is Wilson's responsibility to ensure the team stays together, and he has been laying the foundation for that since he arrived in the Steel City.
Were The Steelers Too Smart For Their Own Good?
In the aftermath of the loss, myriad opinions on responsibility are bubbling up. Tim Benz agreed with Kaboly that the blame is widespread, but added that the decision he hated the most was having Justin Fields throw on third down.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' Justin Fields looks to run during a loss to the Browns.
In his mind, that play "reeked of 'look how smart we are'" instead of solid decision-making. The Steelers have been planning to use both quarterbacks in packages all season and are finally getting there. However, according to Benz, they must use the best quarterback for each play, rather than trying to force either of them into a package that doesn't fit.
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