5 things we learned: Welcome to worst December home loss in Mike Tomlin era
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Five things we learned from Cardinals 24, Steelers 10:
1. Worst of the worst?
In his 17 years as coach, Mike Tomlin’s resume includes some late-season stinkers to teams with losing records.
Just three years ago, the Steelers lost a 27-17 decision in December to Ryan Finley and the 2-10-1 Cincinnati Bengals. Two years before that, the Steelers went to Oakland and were defeated by the 2-10 Raiders and their faulty X-ray machine.
In 2015, the Steelers lost to the 4-10 Baltimore Ravens and backup QB Ryan Mallett.
The commonality in those losses is that each came on the road, which makes what transpired Sunday against the 2-10 Cardinals at Acrisure Stadium arguably the Steelers’ worst regular-season home defeat under Tomlin.
The previous low mark at home in December came in 2009 when Tomlin infamously predicted the Steelers would “unleash hell” during the final month. The Steelers proceeded to go out and lose to the 3-8 Raiders, 27-24, at the former Heinz Field when Bruce Gradkowski threw the winning touchdown pass with 9 seconds remaining.
Four days later, it got even worse. The Steelers ventured into Cleveland to face the 1-11 Browns and dropped a 13-6 decision.
That’s something to keep in mind when the Steelers get back to business in four days when the 2-10 New England Patriots visit Acrisure.
2. Nothing gained, nothing lost
The Steelers entered Week 13 as the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoff picture. After the loss to Arizona, they remain … well … the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoff picture.
The difference is, the Steelers trail the first-place Ravens by two games instead of one with five left on the schedule. All three wild-card teams have 7-5 records, with Cleveland sitting in the sixth spot after a loss at the Los Angeles Rams and the Indianapolis Colts occupying seventh after an overtime win against Tennessee.
The Houston Texans, also 7-5, are on the outside looking in but hold that head-to-head victory against the Steelers. Denver and Buffalo are 6-6, and Cincinnati has a chance to join them with a win Monday night against Jacksonville.
3. Inside job
Elandon Roberts’ groin injury put the inside linebacker position in the hands of Mark Robinson and Mykal Walker, something that wasn’t on anyone’s bingo card earlier in the season. Roberts’ absence was cited by Tomlin as a reason for some of the defensive communication breakdowns as the Cardinals built upon their 10-3 halftime lead.
Roberts left briefly after injuring his groin the first time. He returned for Arizona’s final possession of the first half but had to be helped off the field after aggravating the injury on the second snap.
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Roberts finished with three tackles, but the biggest hit he delivered will be felt in his wallet. He knocked running back Emari Demercado from the game with a vicious hit that led to an unnecessary roughness penalty. This gave Arizona a fresh start of downs and set up a 51-yard Matt Prater field goal that tied the score 3-3.
Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander already are on injured reserve and won’t return this season. If Roberts is out for a prolonged time, the Steelers will turn to another newly signed veteran, Blake Martinez, to help fill the middle of the defense.
4. Game of inches
Tomlin said it was irrelevant that Mitch Trubisky lined up in the shotgun instead of under center on the ill-fated fourth-and-1 run by Najee Harris that was stopped short of the goal line.
Perhaps Tomlin was concerned about a poor center-quarterback exchange given that it was Trubisky’s first play after replacing the injured Kenny Pickett. As it turned out, Trubisky and center Mason Cole later were involved in a low snap exchange out of the shotgun that resulted in a fumble, which led to the Cardinals’ third-quarter touchdown and 17-3 lead.
But on the fourth-and-goal play in the second quarter, by lining up Trubisky in the shotgun, it eliminated any chance of the Steelers executing their version of the tush push, which has become so popular and successful around the league.
Instead, Trubisky took the snap out of the shotgun and handed the ball to Harris, who ran into a wall of bodies that stopped him from breaking the plane of the end zone.
Another curious decision was on the previous play when Diontae Johnson exited on third-and-3 in favor of Calvin Austin. Pickett never looked at Austin, who went in motion, before scrambling toward the goal line and injuring his ankle. It was one of only nine snaps for Austin as he becomes less and less of a factor in the offense.
5. Yards sale
After being outgained by their opponents in each of the first 10 games, the Steelers held the edge in yardage for the second game in a row.
That was a cause for celebration the previous week in Cincinnati when the Steelers surpassed 400 yards for the first time in 59 games. This time, it took a 75-yard touchdown drive on their final possession for the Steelers to finish with 317.
On the flip side, the Steelers held the Cardinals to 282 yards, the third game in a row the defense allowed fewer than 300. Again, no pats on the back were necessary. Included in that total was the game-turning 99-yard touchdown drive the Cardinals had to close out the first half.
The Steelers watched Arizona convert five times on third down during that possession. The Cardinals were 0 for 4 on third downs entering that march.
Arizona finished with 10 conversions on third down, the most allowed by the Steelers this season. The Cardinals also converted all three trips inside the red zone into touchdowns. No previous opponent this season had done it to the Steelers more than twice.