Mark Madden: Forget wishful thinking about AFC North; the Steelers are a bad team

Let’s get the excuses out of the way: Ben Roethlisberger didn’t play. T.J. Watt, Joe Haden and both starting guards left mid-game via injury. The refereeing was sketchy.

Let’s address the wishful thinking: Baltimore lost to Miami, Cleveland got routed by New England, nobody in the AFC North is very good, so why not the Pittsburgh Steelers?

Now let’s consider reality: The Steelers are a bad team.

That was too evident in Sunday’s 16-16 draw with winless Detroit at Heinz Field, a tie as soul-crushing and embarrassing as any loss in coach Mike Tomlin’s too-long tenure.

The Steelers scored a touchdown on their first possession but took zero momentum forward.

Backup quarterback Mason Rudolph threw the ball 50 times. That’s too many times even when it’s not raining.

Center Kendrick Green kept rifling high snaps to Rudolph, including one over his head. It’s like Rudolph was snapping the ball to himself.

The Steelers had first-and-goal at Detroit’s 5-yard line but didn’t run the ball once. That’s even though Najee Harris finished with 105 yards and a 4-yard average.

The Steelers had a host of missed tackles, drops and dumb penalties. For having a coach that’s supposed to be so good, they flunk Football 101 time and again.

In overtime, Diontae Johnson and Pat Freiermuth each had a potential win in their hands with but one job to do: don’t fumble. So they both fumbled.

Detroit was 0-8. The Steelers played an 0-8 team at Heinz Field and couldn’t win.

After the game, linebacker Joe Schobert said the Steelers need to take practice more seriously. Wow.

Did you know Tomlin has never had a losing season?

If you can’t see the Steelers as they really are after that debacle, you just don’t want to.

Rudolph is the popular scapegoat, but he didn’t lose the game. He threw only one pick and drove the Steelers to that quick touchdown.

Rudolph didn’t win the game, either. He has zero touch. If a pass needed zip, he floated it. If a pass needed finesse, he gunned it. He missed some easy throws, including a wide-open Ray-Ray McCloud on the aforementioned series when the Steelers had first-and-goal from the 5. McCloud needs to be given the chance to drop that ball.

The single biggest problem was the missed tackles. They were many, and they were costly. Detroit rushed for 229 yards, and it wasn’t Barry Sanders.

Linebacker Devin Bush isn’t just a first-round bust. He flat-out stinks. He can’t tackle, can’t cover and his football IQ is nonexistent. What else is there?

Minkah Fitzpatrick was the NFL’s best safety in 2019 and maybe last year, too. But this season, he’s vanilla. He does nothing. No interceptions. Zero tangible impact. (Fitzpatrick since has been diagnosed with covid. I didn’t know missing tackles was a symptom.)

But the optimist yinzer continues to sing a siren song about the struggles of the AFC North’s other teams.

The Steelers do play Baltimore twice. Should be no problem beating the Ravens both times, right? Even if the Steelers couldn’t beat 0-8 Detroit, and even if Baltimore does have the NFL’s MVP frontrunner in QB Lamar Jackson.

The Steelers visit the Los Angeles Chargers this coming weekend. Heck, they’re 5-4. That’s not even as good as the Steelers. Beating them seems a piece of cake.

The Steelers have lost to a big underdog often during Tomlin’s reign. So often, in fact, that we are incredibly accepting of it. After a moment’s anger, we move on.

But there’s no moving on from that result against Detroit.

When you’re walking a tightrope to make the playoffs and the toughest part of your schedule is approaching, you can’t tie the 0-8 team. Bad things could snowball and probably will. Sunday’s result isn’t going to go away.

That tie might be worse than losing to 2-10 Oakland in 2018. The Steelers entered that game 7-4-1. A late-season collapse was triggered. That since has become a Steelers tradition.

By the way, Harris didn’t know you could tie in the NFL. That seems representative of the Steelers’ preparation for this past Sunday.