Backsliding Pittsburgh Steelers Have Their Backs Against the Wall

Someone must have forgot to tell the Steelers that return season doesn't start until after Christmas.

In the past eight games, the Steelers have allowed some type of return for a touchdown. In the last two games, it has cost them in the final tally.

Before the opening kickoff, Steelers radio broadcaster Tunch Ilkin stated that he thought the Steelers would not allow another return for a touchdown for the remainder of the season. 

Oops.

But the Steelers' loss Sunday to lowly Kansas City goes well beyond Jamaal Charles' 97-yard jaunt to start the game.

This was a team loss. In fact, it's the only thing the Steelers did as a team on Sunday.

Let's break it down.

Offense

Ben Roethlisberger had another huge passing day, completing 32-of-42 attempts for 398 yards and three touchdowns. 

It would have been a wonderful day, nearly a career day, if not for the fact that he also threw two interceptions, was sacked three times, continually held the ball too long, and failed miserably in the fourth quarter to make plays to win the game.

Another red-zone interception by Roethlisberger also puts a damper on his statistical marvels. That interception, returned to the Pittsburgh six, was a back-breaker. After that, the offense was erratic at best and at worst an unmitigated disaster.

But let's not just pin this one on Big Ben. He had some help.

Mike Wallace fumbled in the first quarter after a long completion by Roethlisberger, killing a promising drive at midfield.

Several passes were dropped, and at times it seemed as if Ben and the receivers were playing two different games.

However, as has been the case since Mike Tomlin came aboard in 2007, some of the worst blame lies with the man in the offensive coordinator's headset: Bruce Arians.

The toss play in overtime will go down as one of his worst calls ever. Worse, he chose to run the toss play (which is a low percentage play for the Steelers anyway) with his slowest running back.

No offense to Mewelde Moore, but I'm not running many toss plays with him. 

If Arians absolutely had to run the toss play on third down, he should have sent in Willie Parker to carry the mail. 

The best choice, however, would have been to not run the toss play at all. 

How about a power running play with Rashard Mendenhall, the best back on the team? Mendenhall was gaining tough yards on the Kansas City front seven. Why not let him push for two yards?

The worst crime of that toss play was that the Steelers were on the fringes of believable field goal range.

At worst, Jeff Reed could have come in and attempted a kick to win the game. After Moore lost two yards on the toss, the Steelers were beyond his range and forced into a Daniel Sepulveda punt.

Defense

So we're back to this? In the first half, the Steelers' vaunted defense allowed no points, not a lot of yards, and even less hope for a Chiefs offense mired in a season-long funk.

In the second half, the Chiefs offense was spotted marching down the field to tie and, later, to win the game.

We're back to playing halves and quarters instead of games.

Do not say it's about Troy Polamalu.

The defense broke once again when the game was on the line.

Forget the sparkling statistics. Games are won and lost in the fourth quarter based on whether defenses are successful or not.

On Sunday, the Steelers couldn't hold the Chiefs back. In the second half, the Chiefs scored on drives of 62 and, even more uncharacteristically, 91 yards. Their overtime drive encompassed 76 yards.

The problems range anywhere from poor tackling to lack of pressure. It almost seems as if Dick LeBeau is afraid to blitz without his prized safety in the lineup.

Special Teams

Stop me if you've heard this before.

The Steelers allowed a long return for a touchdown thanks to poor tackling and poor pursuit.

So, now what?

Will Tomlin cut another player, hoping that one person will change everything or will send the message that the players need to step it up?

It's obviously not all on the players.

It's time to start turning up the heat on Bob Ligashesky and Chris Amos, our friendly neighborhood special teams coordinators.

If this doesn't get fixed, someone's job will have to be taken away. The Steelers have struggled for years with kick coverage, which is something so basic that it should be an unquestioned strength.

Last year, to make matters worse, the Steelers owned the league's top coverage units. Things looked bright.

The players are the same. The results are opposite.

It's time to step in and scare some people into thinking their jobs are on the line. 

It's also time to put some of your starters out there to cover kicks. The veteran defensive players (and even some of the offensive players) know how to make big tackles. Let's see it.

The best tackle of the day was on a return.

Too bad it was Mendenhall chasing down defensive star (read that sarcastically) Andy Studebaker after Roethlisberger tossed up a gift. 

Maybe Mendenhall should play special teams. At least Studebaker didn't score.

I'm not sure anyone even bothered to breathe on Jamaal Charles.

Coaching

Mike Tomlin, this one's on you too.

The Steelers were flat. Worse yet, they were flat coming off a big loss to a division rival. Worse yet, that division rival lost, meaning that if the Steelers had even eked out a win Sunday, they would be back within sight of first place.

Both of the coordinators called poor games. Arians called an OK game, but the big calls define you, and his biggest call of the day was a failure of epic proportions.

LeBeau is afraid to blitz regularly without Polamalu. He needs to face his fear. Ty Carter is playing great whenever he's called upon.

Let him play Troy's game as well as he can. The results, particularly in the second half, cannot be much worse than they've been already.

I won't even mention the special teams again. I didn't really see them on Sunday anyway.

If Pittsburgh plays that game against Baltimore, their biggest rival in recent seasons, they will not only lose, but they will be physically destroyed.

It's time to get the boys motivated again. It's also time to get them playing as a team.

The Steelers didn't look like much of a team on Sunday. They looked like 53 guys playing football.

They need to play together.

Thanks to Cincinnati, it's not too late.