Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris is tackled by Buffalo Bills safety Jaquan Johnson … [+]
Mike Tomlin says he would rather look ahead than look back. And who can really blame the Pittsburgh Steelers’ coach?
The Steelers are off to an abysmal 1-4 start and were walloped by the Buffalo Bills 38-3 on Sunday on the road. They have lost four games in a row since eking out an overtime victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in the opener.
The Bills are considered the favorites to win the Super Bowl by the oddsmakers. The Steelers found out how far away they are from being considered potential Super Bowl champions – five touchdowns.
As the Steelers try to get on track Sunday when they host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Acrisure Stadium, Tomlin says his team doesn’t have time to fret about all the losing.
“It’s about the development of players and concepts. That’s what it’s about,” Tomlin said Tuesday during his weekly press conference. “Our windshield is bigger than our rearview (mirror). We can waste a lot of time talking about things that have transpired. We’ve talked about this collection of young guys we have that are playing in some instances and can highlight what they do well and stimulate their growth and development and minimize what they don’t do well.
“Those are some of the things that have our attention as we sit here, formulating our plan for our next opportunity.”
Things don’t get a whole lot easier for the Steelers with their longtime nemesis Tom Brady coming to town. The Buccaneers have been a bit of a disappointment this season with a 3-2 record and an average of just 20.6 points scored a game.
Yet at this point, any opponent looks daunting to the Steelers. Tomlin understands that and knows there are no easy fixes for his team’s problems.
The Steelers are 30th in the NFL in scoring offense (15.4), 28th in total offense (295.8), 25th in scoring defense (25.6) and 30th in total defense (416.8).
“One thing that I want our team to know and stated to them is that we’re not going to cure our ills in one or a couple of good days, or a good plan, or a good performance,” Tomlin said. “The state that we’re in, we’re going to have to put our heads down and work diligently and stay together for an extended period of time as we grind our way back to respectability.
“It’s a mindset we need to have, understanding where we are. There are no quick fixes. It’s not going to be based off one good performance or good plan. As we prepare and lean into this next opportunity, I think it’s important that we say that. We keep working our tails off. We didn’t dig ourselves into this circumstance in one day, so we’re not going to dig ourselves out of this in one day or one performance.”
Tomlin switched quarterbacks midway through Steelers’ 24-20 loss to the New York Jets on Oct. 1, calling on rookie Kenny Pickett to replace veteran Mitch Trubisky. Tomlin gave Pickett his first career start last week and it was a mixed bag for the first-round draft pick from the University of Pittsburgh.
Pickett threw for 327 yards, but the Steelers managed only a field goal. He also got no help as his team rushed for just 54 yards and the defense allowed Josh Allen to pass for 424 yards and four touchdowns.
“Largely, we were a disaster in all three phases, and we have to own that, starting with myself,” Tomlin said. “And I do. Equally as important, we’ve got to build a plan for moving forward.”
Tomlin indicated part of that plan could include some more new faces joining Pickett in the starting lineup.
“All things are on table after a performance like that,” Tomlin said. “When you’re up against it, you’ve got to look at all components of what it is that you do, not for the sake of changing, but change for the better.”
John Perrotto, Senior Contributor
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