The Steelers‘ week 1 defensive film was one difficult watch. To open their season, Pittsburgh had allowed 32 points and 182 rushing yards in a game where QB Aaron Rodgers was sacked three times. HC Mike Tomlin was no fan of the blocks and the tackles for a line full of Pro Bowl talent. Moreover, for a team with a new-look offense, a 53-yard rush was one brutal blow. The game demanded that the Steelers fetch an identity, and the Seahawks amplified it very soon. But there remains a takeaway.

It sure wasn’t an expected opening week for the Steelers. Not in terms of the bulky game-winning 34 points, nor in terms of the D-line struggles. But after the 17-31 loss to Seattle in week 2, the Steelers’ top receiver, DK Metcalf, is asking to revisit the positives of game one: ”We faced adversity during the first Jets game. Nobody hung their head, and nobody blinked. So just keeping that steady attitude, steady persona about ourselves. Bad things are going to happen, or everything’s not going to go our way. So, just making sure that we’re keeping our head high, just leaning on each other.” 

The Jets gained 394 total yards to Pittsburgh’s 271. The 182 to 53 was even worse. However, what really rang the alarm for Metcalf was an uncharacteristic Week 2. Aaron Rodgers’ squad was handed a disastrous fourth quarter, during which the Seahawks scored two touchdowns. To add to that, a game-defining mistake by Kaleb Johnson.

With the game in favor of the Seahawks at 17-14, Seattle’s kicker Jason Myers sent a bouncing ball towards Johnson. Before ending up in the landing zone, it hopped off the rookie, who failed to bring it in. As Johnson walked off unaware, the Seahawks recovered the live ball for a touchdown, extending the lead. The Steelers could not match the stride thereafter. What that calls for is a return to the fundamentals.

“Just being better with our details, smaller things,” Metcalf said in a blog shared by the Steelers. “It was one play here and there, one person not getting their assignment down to the best of their ability, and it turned into a negative play.”

Pittsburgh now enters week 3 on 1-1, and a lack of identity. A D-line that entered with expectations enough for Tomlin to call it ‘historic’ is struggling with communication thanks to injuries. With Joey Porter Jr. and DeShon Elliot sidelined, the backups are adjusting. Further, T.J. Watt is struggling to make an impact, while Broderick Jones has now allowed four sacks and six additional pressures on his QB.

The critics and fans alike are expecting a nip-and-tuck affair as their next opponents, the Patriots, arrive with a same record. For Metcalf, or for Tomlin, the approach to the solution remains simple: “emphasizing the little mistakes in team meetings.” Stay sharp on every play, take advantage of opportunities, and do not replicate the past game. Rodgers, though, has more to add.

Aaron Rodgers demands sweeping change

While Metcalf emphasized fundamentals, Rodgers was more instructive in tactics, noting that the Steelers had to run successfully against specific defensive schemes.

“We gotta run the ball,” Rodgers said. “They play two-high, you gotta run the ball. And that’s the last five or six years coming out of the Seahawks (cover) three that went around the league. You’ve got to run the football against these combo coverages and two-high coverages. If you run the football, you have a chance to have some good play-action stuff.”

He stressed practice, communication, and doing everything in the week every day are the actual indicators of success, and not game-day performance. According to him, fundamentals, discipline, and execution would naturally translate to increased points in the scoreboard. So, finally, Rodgers focused on the bigger picture of the offense.

”Great competitors know that sometimes their best is not going to be good enough on some days, but your best is not just a game-day performance. Your best is a weekly accumulation of how you prepared….and then the communication that you exhibited during the week as well. So as long as we stay on those things, game days take care of themselves.” This strategy sets the Steelers up for a crucial game against the Patriots. And Metcalf and Rodgers seek to lead the team to better and more significant performances in the future.