The Pittsburgh Steelers were outplayed in just about every facet of their Week 15 matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles were favored to win at home for a reason, as the Steelers haven’t won in Philadelphia since the 1960’s.
History aside, the Steelers did not play like a team expected to break that curse on Sunday. The offense confirmed their middling label with a pedestrian performance, and the high-priced defense made Jalen Hurts look like Tom Brady. This is far from the first time the Steelers supposedly-elite defense has looked downright flabbergasted against a good quarterback or play-caller. I’d hardly call Hurts and Kellen Moore the best QB-OC combo in the NFL, but the Steelers sure made them look like it on Sunday.
There are plenty of takeaways from Sunday’s loss for the Steelers, namely that they still have work to do if they want to win a postseason game for the first time in nearly a decade, let alone make a run in the AFC Playoffs. Unfortunately that is not what the players or Mike Tomlin were focused on.
Mike Tomlin and the Steelers are focused on missed calls instead of accountability
Tomlin was vocal during the game about several perceived missed calls, all of which were questionable. The most notable was a skirmish between the Eagles and Steelers that should’ve resulted in off-setting penalties, but the referees missed at least two punches thrown by Philadelphia defenders. There were close holding calls, a supposed offensive pass interference and then some. Pittsburgh had a right to be upset in the moment. Unfortunately for the Steelers, they were not just a few calls away from winning.
“I know some of the guys in the locker room were complaining about the Dan Moore [Jr.] holding, which was iffy,” Steelers insider Mark Kaboly said. “They were complaining about—not publicly—the Zach Frazier tripping call, the difference between tripping and tripping over somebody’s feet. And that was a significant play there. There was complaining about Montravius Adams getting pushed into the long snapper.”
There’s a long list of grievances, but the truth is the same can be said about any NFL game. The officials are forced to make tough calls in the moment, and they often get those calls wrong. For the Steelers to really move forward, they must wash themselves of a bad performance and take some accountability.
If not, Sunday’s matchup against the Baltimore Ravens will get a whole lot tougher.