The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered their first defeat of the 2022 NFL season in a disappointing fashion Sunday at Acrisure Stadium. They lost to the New England Patriots, 17-14. You're not going to win them all, but this one certainly stung due to the amount of chances the Steelers had to seize control of this one and move to 2-0 in a week when every other team in the AFC North lost.
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The big story of the game was the performance of the offense, specifically that of quarterback, Mitch Trubisky. The offense was slow and lethargic for the majority of the day. They struggled to move the ball downfield, and rarely looked for opportunities to do so. Trubisky finished 21/33 for 168 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He sported a 73.8 QB rating. The team only mustered 243 yards of total offense.
It was a tough pill to swallow on a day where even when losing the turnover battle, the defense held the Patriots to only 17 points. Trubisky has been highly scrutinized for his subpar play, but he has one Steelers legend in his corner at the moment. Ben Roethlisberger said on his Footbahlin podcast that he doesn't believe Trubisky deserves all the blame and the boos he got.
Roethlisberger had this to say about Trubisky's performance and the criticism he's received:
"I just don't think it's fair... I wouldn't blame Mitch for the performance today [Sunday]. I don't think he was bad. Did he miss a couple throws? Yes. Every quarterback does. I just saw Aaron Rodgers miss a throw and he's one of the greatest to ever play. It's going to happen sometimes... He threw an interception one time, the guy tipped it, whatever. Did he play his best game? No. Did he play his worst game? I don't think so.""I don't think he deserved the fans getting on him today because sometimes you're playing within the system. I'm not trying to say it's Matt Canada either, but sometimes if he's looking down the field and no one's there, he's taking the check down. If you call a wide receiver screen, you're throwing the wide receiver screen. If it goes for minus two yards, that's not on the quarterback. It's not his fault the screen goes for minus two yards. So I thought it was a little early and a little unfair to start booing. I think the boo birds were more for the offense in general... I hate it for Mitchell because I don't think it's fair yet."
Roethlisberger had former Steelers running back, Merril Hoge on the podcast who felt differently about Trubisky. He had this to say about his feelings on Trubisky:
"I've studied Mitch Trubisky since he came out of college... When he came out of college, there was a couple things he struggled with. He was very inconsistent with his throws... You could never see him be consistent, especially in critical situations... Sitting in Buffalo, there's a chance for a reboot. This is only his second game, but in two games, I've seen that.""That touchdown throw, that's where you go, 'Wow.' And then [Chase] Claypool wide open. Missed it. In Cincinnati, two times not even in the ball park. At least give your guy a shot... I don't want him to fail either, especially that he's in Pittsburgh now, I want to see him do better, I just have not seen him get over that hump."
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I think most of the fan base would unfortunately side with Hoge at the current moment. Trubisky really struggled on Sunday, especially on what head coach, Mike Tomlin would consider the "weighty downs." The team went 8/15 on third down conversions, but often did nothing with those conversions. It was tough to watch and with the talent on this offense, it is hard to not point a figure at the one who facilitates the offense.
Although Roethlisberger isn’t saying it outright, it sounds like he knows a thing or two about working in the system. The Matt Canada system specifically, which some current players seem to be potentially having issues with. Hoge also expressed some issues with the offense.
Steelers Crowd Boos Trubisky; Calls For Kenny Pickett
The crowd began chanting for first round rookie, Kenny Pickett during the game. Roethlisberger felt it was too early for the boo birds to call for Pickett, but knew it was largely inevitable due to him being a hometown product. Coach Tomlin has reiterated that he is exercising patience with the position, but if Trubisky's struggles continue, it's hard to imagine there's not a switch at some point.
For now, the team will continue to roll with Trubisky. Hearing Roethlisberger have his back is reassuring and gives at least some hope that if he is seeing something that there's a chance Trubisky can improve. It is only Week 2 of the season after all, and he does have a win under his belt.
Trubisky and the Steelers will look to get back on track on a short week as they travel to Cleveland to take on the Cleveland Browns this Thursday night. Trubisky will have a chance to clear his name and hold his position with a stronger performance on Thursday. If not, the leash can only be getting shorter, and the path to Pickett may be shorter as well.
Do you agree with Roethlisberger or Hoge? Does Trubisky have what it takes to step it up and lead this team to some victories? Let us know in the comment section below!
Roethlisberger's full episode of his podcast can be seen here.
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