The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2018 season ended abruptly as the Ravens
defeated the Browns on Sunday, and boy does it hurt.
For those of you who don’t know me personally, my name is
Michael O’Brien. I stand around 5’8 at 190 lbs and carry a multicolored beard
consisting of different shades of red and brown. My Irish heritage resembles
the Rooney family as both the Rooney’s and myself value hard work, dedication,
and The Pittsburgh Steelers.
This past Christmas, I was delighted to open a box filled
with white present paper. It was just translucent enough to see black and
yellow shine through. I was positive that this was a Steelers jersey. Better
yet, it was the home jersey of 2017 first round pick TJ Watt. I was filled with
joy, seeing that my last few jerseys hadn’t paid off in the long run (stay
tuned for an explanation). Little did I know I was only going to be able to
wear this jersey once during the 2018-2019 season, as the Steelers were
eliminated from playoff contention because Lamar Jackson and the Ravens defense
were able to fend off the slightly less coordinated Cleveland Browns.
Not being able to make the playoffs has put a dagger in not
only my own heart, but to the hearts of many Steelers fans around the country.
Every Steelers fan should feel the same exact hurt, because our team is
unbelievably laughable when it comes down to the wire.
Here are the things that have frustrated me the most as a
Steelers fan.
ON THE ROAD BELOW
.500
We have a terrible trend of losing to teams we most
certainly should blow out. I get it, “Any NFL team can beat anyone!”. While
this statement might be true, why do the Steelers always seem to play down to
their competition? Take a look at some of these woes:
WEEK 1 – Tied
Cleveland Browns with Tyrod Taylor starting Week One
WEEK 3 – Barely
beat Bucs by 3 points on the road in a game where Ryan Fitzpatrick threw 3
interceptions
WEEK 11 – Barely
beat Jags on the road when they were playing their worst football and Ben
magically dove into the endzone at the very end.
WEEK 12 – Lost to
the Denver Broncos at Mile High
WEEK 14 – Lost to
Jon Gruden’s Raiders in Oakland.
All of these examples are times where the Steelers weren’t
outmatched by any stretch of the imagination; they simply didn’t play their
best football on the road against invalid teams. This isn’t a recent thing
either. Take a look at some of the games from years past:
WEEK 3 2017 –
Lost to pre-Matt Nagy, Khalil Mack Bears on the road in overtime.
WEEK 10 2017
– Barely beat Jacoby Brissett led Colts (Won on game winning FG from Chris
Boswell)
WEEK 12 2017 –
Barely beat Deshone Kizer led Packers (Won because of amazing Antonio Brown
catch and Chris Boswell Kick)
WEEK 3 2016 –
Absolutely killed by Eagles in Philly before Wentz’s breakout. (PHI 34 – PIT 3)
WEEK 6 2016 –
Lost to Dolphins in Miami (this one speaks for itself)
It would be safe to say that I am more confident that we are
going to lose on the road against crappy teams opposed to us beating good teams
at home. I’m tired of seeing this happen. A win against the Raiders, Browns, or
Broncos gives us a spot in the playoffs.
THE OFFICIATING
While I know officiating goes both ways, I feel that we have
gotten absolutely flaked out of a playoff berth this year. There are three
officiating mishaps that stick out in my mind this season that changed our
outcome drastically.
- The missed false start against the Chargers that gave them a free touchdown.
- The terrible pass interference call against the Saints that gave them a free touchdown.
- The fumble blown dead that the Browns ran back against the Ravens, which stripped them of a touchdown.
I understand this is horrible analysis and I should focus on
the team instead of the officials but it’s hard to not leave my two cents in
this post. It’s foolish of me to focus on these things, but like I said
earlier, I am bitter from this season.
DISCIPLINE
Another year, another 1,000 yard season! You thought I was
talking about Antonio Brown? No. Our team has given up the 3rd most yards due
to penalties at a whopping 1026! Can we figure it out? It seems like year in
and year out the Steelers can’t get out of their own way, and I blame that on
the coaching staff entirely.
The coaching staff also has me infuriated. Mike Tomlin has
missed on an incredible amount of challenges this season, as I can’t remember
the last time I saw the red flag on the field and didn’t expect to lose a
timeout. The waste of timeouts also is something that boils my blood,
considering it always comes back to bite us.
Over the years the lack of discipline on and off the field
has been annoying. Le’Veon Bell tweeting late at night, Antonio Brown throwing
a fit on the sideline, Ben shunning our quarterback of the future, and many
other examples of Mike Tomlin’s lack of control continue to make us a target
for the all the NFL jokes and banter. My last two Jerseys I had received were
Martavis Bryant and Le’Veon Bell. You can see why I wouldn’t want to wear them
anymore right?
LOOKING BACKWARDS
AND FORWARDS
The team’s lack of success has been extremely taunting as we
continue to have one of the most explosive and talented rosters in the league
and keep coming up short. Here are our results since 2011:
2011 – Lost to
Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos in the Wild Card
2012 – 8-8 Season
2013 – 8-8 Season
2014 – Lost Wild
Card to Ravens
2015 – Lost
Divisional to Broncos
2016 – Lost AFC
Championship to Patriots
2017 – Lost to
Blake Bortles and the Jacksonville Jaguars at Heinz Field in the Divisional
Round
2018 – 9-6-1
Season
Is this a joke? One shot at a conference championship over
the past 8 years? It’s unbelievable considering the talent we have had on this
team. We continuously see year after year that regardless of what group of
studs we have on the field the decisions on the sideline come back to bite us.
Things like converted 3rd and 20’s and Chris Hogan being the most wide open
wide receiver in 2018 are things that can be avoided on the practice field.
Going for it on fourth down with a fake punt instead of our offense adds to the
list.
All Steelers fans want is another Super Bowl, being on the
cusp of a championship is the most heartbreaking thing in the world. We are
always in the mix but never come out on top and this is why it hurts the most
to be a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers. At least as a fan of the Browns you
knew what to expect.
The Steelers are now facing a predicament. Ben is only
getting older, and the rest of the AFC North is getting younger. The Browns and
Ravens have their quarterbacks of the future, and the division is getting
scary. So, as much as I can rant, the Steelers aren’t in the playoffs. All fans
should expect a turbulent offseason because something needs to be done.
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