Another Take on the Game.

Instant analysis of the Steelers loss in the AFC Championship game


By: Curt Popejoy | January 22, 2017
Between the Facebook Live fiasco, the stomach flu outbreak and the early morning fire alarms, you had to wonder where the heads were of the Pittsburgh Steelers players would be in the AFC Championship game. It’s impossible to quantify just how much all that affected this team, but the Steelers came out flat and were outplayed on both sides of the football.
Offensively all the talk will be about the Steelers playing without RB Le’Veon Bell for most of the game. But the reality is that we will never know if having Bell out there instead of DeAngelo Williams would have significantly impacted the outcome of the game. What did impact it was the worst performance by the offensive line in two months and total lack of depth at wide receiver. Ben Roethlisberger had a very good game, but he was working with limited resources all night.
On defense, the Patriots once again owned the Steelers defense. New England quarterback Tom Brady picked the Steelers soft zone defense apart and their three-man pass rush never created any sort of duress for him. The announcers often referenced the young Steelers secondary, but some of the most egregious errors of the night were at the hands of the most veteran guys back there. After the first half, many might have expected some adjustments, but the Steelers just kept shutting their hand in that same dresser drawer, hoping one time it wouldn’t hurt.
Overall, this game should be a lesson to the Steelers. The Patriots are the best team in the AFC and for as good as Pittsburgh is, there are significant gaps in this roster as well as coaching deficiencies that keep them a notch below. James Harrison said last week if the team didn’t win a Super Bowl the season was a waste. They played the Patriots like they didn’t want a Super Bowl.