Mark Madden: Steelers need to focus on substance, not style

If Ben Roethlisberger returns at 100% next season and the Steelers’ defense maintains its current elite level, 2020 could be a special year.

But it’s still 2019, and the word that currently applies is “weird.”

The Steelers might make the playoffs without beating a team that makes the playoffs. Their signature victory could be against Indianapolis and third-string quarterback Brian Hoyer or against the fading Los Angeles Rams.

The Steelers aren’t ushering in a new era of glory. They’re exploiting a weak league and weaker schedule. (No complaint. You can only perform the task at hand.)

Witness Sunday’s 17-12 home win over the Rams: The Steelers offense directly gave the Rams nine points. The Steelers’ running game averaged 1.7 yards per carry. Receivers dropped four balls. Clang! Clang! I need a welding torch to play in this league!

Then, at a crucial point in the fourth quarter, coach Mike Tomlin went for it on fourth-and-1 at his own 34. Tomlin trusted his inferior offense, not his dominant defense. He trusted Mason Rudolph, not Minkah Fitzpatrick. It was inexplicable, even dumb.

But Rudolph converted a 6-yard pass to Trey Edmunds. The drive ultimately netted a field goal but, more important, took eight minutes off the clock.

The wrong move can be the right move if it works, and you win.

That drive seemed a big moment for Rudolph. Rudolph even threw the ball downfield a bit Sunday, averaging 11 yards per completion. Wide receivers caught 13 balls, running backs five. Perhaps the training wheels finally have come off.

But the offense scored exactly one point more than it gave up. It’s not an effective unit. Rudolph is a work in progress. He’s marginal. Better, yes. Good, no.

The Steelers’ biggest ally is a terrible schedule. Five of their remaining seven opponents have a combined record of 8-28-1.

The Steelers should go 10-6. But it seems more probable they drop a game they shouldn’t (as per Tomlin tradition), finish 9-7, and either narrowly get or narrowly miss a wild card.

Too bad James Conner and JuJu Smith-Schuster fumbled away wins. If Smith-Schuster hangs on to the ball vs. Baltimore, the Steelers are tied with the Ravens atop the AFC North and own the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Anything above .500 constitutes a good season in Roethlisberger’s absence. A playoff berth would be amazing, a playoff win utterly miraculous.

Does Tomlin deserve credit for rallying the Steelers from 1-4? Sure.

But whoever decided to trade for Fitzpatrick deserves a key to the executive washroom. (It was almost certainly GM Kevin Colbert, but the organization shares credit by way of diluting blame.)

Trading a first-round pick is risky. That’s why the Steelers hadn’t done it since 1967.

But Fitzpatrick’s impact at safety is overwhelming and trickles throughout the platoon. He eats up space and makes everybody better. His tangibles are considerable: five interceptions and two touchdowns. His intangibles go beyond.

Fitzpatrick is one of four likely Pro Bowlers on that Steelers defense. The others are outside linebackers T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree and defensive end Cam Heyward.

It’s a shame none of that quartet also plays offense. The Steelers offense stinks. It’s a waste of a great offensive line.

In addition to sins mentioned above, the Steelers’ leading rusher Sunday (Jaylen Samuels) had 29 yards. Nine NFL players have more rushing yards than the Steelers have totaled as a team. “No. 1 receiver” Smith-Schuster has had exactly one 100-yard game. The Steelers were just 5 for 16 on third-down conversions Sunday.

But the Rams were 1 for 14 on third downs, 0 for 2 on fourth down. The Steelers defense is relentless, a splash-play machine that features an unstoppable pass rush.

The Steelers defense has to win games. The offense has to not lose them.

Visiting Cleveland on Thursday will be a test. The Browns beat Buffalo on Sunday despite tomfoolery like turning the ball over on downs after eight straight snaps inside the 3-yard line (seven from the 1, one from the 2).

The Browns have better talent than their 3-6 record. They’re just stupid, immature and badly coached. But Thursday will be their Super Bowl.

Beating Cleveland wouldn’t be a signature win. But it would be a win. The Steelers need substance. Don’t worry about style.