Kovacevic: It's been half the season, and the Steelers are sadly stuck taken at Heinz Field (DK's 10 Takes)

EMILEE CHINN / DKPS

James Washington reacts in frustration after an incompletion Sunday at Heinz Field.

"Core fundamental things."

Those three words for-real emanated from the mouth of Mike Tomlin, and I still can't fathom that they did. From an NFL head coach. Nine games into the schedule. Fresh off facing an 0-8 opponent.

But I'll be damned if he wasn't dead-on accurate. Maybe more than he knew.

Because, in attempting to peel back the countless rotten layers to the Steelers' stomach-twisting 16-16 tie with the still-winless Lions on this soggy Sunday at Heinz Field, I kept boomeranging back to the same single concept: It isn't any one thing.

It's everything.

It's ... well, at the risk of halting any further reading of future columns, it's that this just isn't a very good football team.

No, not because of this one outcome. The case is made every weekend that anyone's capable of beating anyone.

And no, I'm not burying the Steelers based on where they stand within the AFC North or the broader conference. Nor what the Ravens or Browns or Bengals might do that weekend. Sorry, but that stuff's relevant for contenders, and this team can't be considered anything of the kind. Not on its own merit. Not even close.

But I am burying them. At least from my own perspective.

And I'm doing so because there's been such scant progress -- if there's progress at all -- on far too many fronts.

Think of it this way: On the 12th of September, when the Steelers beat the Bills in Orchard Park, N.Y., they were a team comprised of three perceived elite talents in T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward and Minkah Fitzpatrick, two past-their-prime talents once in that category in Ben Roethlisberger and Joe Haden, and one rookie well on his way in Najee Harris.

What out of all that's changed since then?

Right: Minkah's devolved into just another dude.

And who's blossomed? Who's become better to the extent they're a difference-maker?

I count one: Pat Freiermuth.

That's it. No other players are performing better. No coaches are getting more clever. And in turn, not one facet has improved and some, in fact, have regressed.

Unless, of course, someone can come up with a kinder word for whatever Devin Bush is doing on this 28-yard touchdown run by Jermar Jefferson:

"   "

I'm serious. I have no idea why he engages who he does, why he never sheds, why he doesn't pursue ... nothing.

This one's way worse:

"   "

My Lord.

And to top them all, here's one to put on endless loop in front of the young man -- eyelids open, Clockwork Orange-style -- in his classroom sessions:

That's just sickening.

It's funny, fans have debated for years if Bush was a first-round reach or overpay, but that's outdated. It's now fair to wonder if this is even an NFL linebacker. And if the knee's the issue -- it isn't on either of those plays above -- get him off the field for good.

It was a bad idea to enter the season so thin at inside linebacker, a worse idea to augment Bush with a similar player in Joe Schobert, and the worst idea of all to have Bush and Schobert out there together getting rag-dolled all over the grass, as they were in this one while the Lions ground out 199 yards rushing through three quarters. This despite Detroit's damaged quarterback -- Jared Goff entered with a wonky back and added a strained oblique early -- being unable to throw and limited to 25 passes. This despite Detroit's six-man line advertising each run. This despite Detroit ... being Detroit.

Why?

I asked Schobert: "They gave us a lot of looks, and it took us probably longer than it should have to be able to start nailing the screws down on that."

So, slow adjustments.

I asked Heyward, even though he was the front's only sure-handed presence: "We didn't do a good job getting off blocks, staying in our gaps, driving with our feet."

So, same as that one quarter against the Seahawks, same gashing, same explanations afterward.

Tomlin pointed "mostly" to tackling, but he and Keith Butler are also the ones overseeing the defense that has Robert Spillane, their only reliable run-stopper at inside linebacker, hilariously coming onto the field only on third downs. Tomlin's also the one who partook in the front office's decision to erase Vince Williams from the mix this summer. And he and Kevin Colbert are why there's still $10.25 million in free cap space and a defense that can't execute its most basic task.

So, poorly planned, identity-free, stupidly schemed, stubborn and physically overmatched?

Hey, sounds like the offense, too!

Behold:

"   "

It's a low misfire, obviously, from Mason Rudolph. But, unlike what I'm sure will comprise the bulk of public discourse after this, I don't see this game as all about Rudolph, whether it's his day or his future with the franchise. 

What I do see, more powerfully, is what led to it: First-and-goal at the Detroit 5, followed by one, two, three straight incompletions by Rudolph. A scene so mind-numbing that even the mild-mannered Harris could be seen gesturing in frustration toward the Pittsburgh sideline.

Why even draft him?

Why, why, why to all of it?

"We had a run-pass option on first down," Tomlin replied when that arose. "They gave us a look. I think they had six defensive linemen in the game. And so, we had an opportunity in the passing game. But when it's incomplete, it opens it up for that judgment, and so I own all of that."

Wait, wait, wait ... no. That's not OK. Because not all decisions are erased by a favorable or fortunate result. What's dumb in the moment remains dumb in that moment forever. And that was exceedingly dumb.

Blindly running Harris right into six beef-eaters would be dumb, too, but if that's the only way Matt Canada can concoct to utilize his talent with three cracks from five yards out, then Canada needs to board the midnight express back to minor-league ball at the University of Maryland by sunrise.

Blaming Rudolph for the bad throw is fair. He did that himself, by saying, "The glove kind of grabbed it a little bit there at the end, but I've got to make that throw. No excuses."

But blaming him for the RPO, which Tomlin tacitly did, is outrageous. All coaches, including the head coach, are free to call a running play. Including after the first one isn't there.

Look, any quarterback debate makes for the most convenient talk soup. But when Tomlin assessed Rudolph by saying, "He gave us a chance to win," he was literally correct: Rudolph had a 75-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter lost to a Dan Moore holding penalty, then had two of three overtime drives end thusly:

"   "
"   "

Care to pin either of those whoppers by Diontae Johnson and Freiermuth on Rudolph?

No, he shouldn't have wound up 50 pass attempts -- 30 completions, 242 yards, touchdown, pick -- and yeah, he definitely could've added or subtracted some velocity on a few. But he's not the one who fumbled those potential winning drives, he's not the one who calls the plays, he's not the one who omitted tight ends from the game plan, he's not the one who thought Benny Snell was an NFL running back, he's not the one who thought cobbling children onto an offensive line was a swell idea, he's not Kendrick Green to have snapped the ball over his head five times, and, yet again, he's not the one sitting on $10.25 million in cap space.

Those aren't excuses, either. They're just truth.

Most pointed, Rudolph's also not the one who bizarrely abandoned downfield passing after a richly promising opening drive in that regard.

"I think we want to run the ball," was all he'd say to that subject. "That's been an emphasis all year."

No doubt. But that had nothing to do with all the sideways nonsense creeping right back onto the scene with the second drive. Tomlin was asked if the offensive plan changed with the change in quarterbacks and dismissed it with, "It did not." What he didn't say was why it didn't. Between Rudolph's additional mobility and history of preferring the deep ball, it's unfathomable how that was stowed away after one fruitful drive.

See where I'm going?

None of this is working. None of it's moving forward. Like all of Canada's preferred Xs and Os, it's all going sideways.

Tell me, please, on which critical area I'm off, or where I'm being reactionary to one outcome.

The offensive line?

Even before both guards, Kevin Dotson and Trai Turner, were felled by ankle injuries in this game, there's been no push from this group since Cleveland. Heck, I found myself looking forward to seeing more of Joe Haeg, J.C. Hassenauer and anyone else. If Hassenauer replaces Green at center, his natural position, that'll be OK, too. Same with Zach Banner getting back out there. But none of it's an answer.

The wide receivers?

I get that JuJu Smith-Schuster and Chase Claypool are out, but I also get that it's OK for Johnson to make more than one big play in the game and, then, when he does, to not self-destruct on the same play. Between Johnson and James Washington, I counted a handful of 50/50 contested balls that clanged off their hands. It's OK to win those. But they don't. And they haven't. And that story's getting stale.

The other defensive linemen?

If it isn't Heyward, it's a hole. That's how opponents view Chris Wormley and/or Isaiah Buggs. Wherever there's no No. 97, it's deemed safe to run. It should be embarrassing for all concerned. And there's no Stephon Tuitt and/or Tyson Alualu riding to the rescue.

The inside linebackers?

Don't even.

To bring this back up, when Tomlin cited "core fundamental things," he undoubtedly was referring to techniques, particularly the tackling. But when I hear it, in this setting, in this circumstance, and when a lot of that's centered on individuals who can't consistently create positive plays ... those three words of his can sound a whole lot more like a condemnation of the entire collective.

My default through this season had been to presume both potential and progress. I liked a lot of what I saw. I witnessed occasional cause for hope. I kept the figurative glass half-full. 

But now that the season's half-over, my new default is to wait and see ... and to never stop wondering how far $10.25 million could've gone.

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EMILEE CHINN / GETTY

Mason Rudolph scrambles for 11 yards in front of the Lions' Da'Shawn Hand and Tracy Walker.

• That's the worst game ever played at Heinz Field. And I've been there from the beginning, so yeah, I was there for the fiasco with the Texans, the Miami Mud Bowl, that trash last year with the depleted Ravens ... this was rock bleeping bottom.

• Not going to lie, and probably not going to make friends with this, but part of me enjoyed watching Rudolph, if only to see the occasional scramble, rollout and deep throw. It's a reminder of all the handcuffs in place when Ben's playing.

That said, man, Rudolph's got to make more of his opportunities. As I wrote in the gameday column, he had a chance to drop some dimes and raise some eyebrows. Which he did ... only on the first drive.

How much of that is him and how much Canada and/or the line?

No way of knowing.

But it's certain that he needed to show a way better touch, especially on the sideline routes that are Ben's strength. He left some real floaters up there that another opponent would've been plucking like peaches.

To his credit, he did seem to embrace the start.

"I'm so much more comfortable out there," Rudolph would say. "Comfortable with Coach Canada and our offense and the young players on our offensive line. We just gel well as a unit. Those are my friends. Those are my brothers. We enjoy each other's company. Yeah, there's a level of experience that you get. Experience is the best teacher, and these opportunities don't come around often, so obviously, I was excited to get it. We’ve got to make more plays to get in the win column."

• The Steelers are 5-3-1, by the way. Second in the division. Sixth in the conference. 

Doesn't matter at all. Going nowhere like this.

• And that goes double if T.J.'s out for any appreciable time.

He and Schobert collided at the knees in the fourth quarter when converging for a tackle, but the injury was announced as a hip until Tomlin later added the more obvious knee. No specifics were given, and all teammates would share was hope that, "He'll be back soon," as Alex Highsmith said, or an observation such as, "He's in good spirits," that came from Heyward.

• It was encouraging, though, within that context that Highsmith visibly rose up in T.J.'s absence, finishing with 11 tackles, two for losses and a quarterback hit that led to one of Heyward's two sacks. 

It's about time, too. After the dominant training camp he had, it could've been reasonably expected a few weeks back that he'd have busted out. If he does, he can join Freiermuth on my little list up there.

• Schobert made a couple references to the Steelers' approach to practices, and I saw it took only a few seconds for that to begin getting blown miles out of proportion.

For full context, Schobert was asked about the tackling issue and answered, "It's something we have to go and execute. It's hard to execute in the middle of the season at practice. It's something we have to work on and get ourselves into positions and take practice seriously to improve on it."

Oh, no! They didn't take practice seriously!

He was then asked about penalties and answered, "Yeah, we've been bringing in refs to practice to cut down that. You know, that, along with tackling, is something we have to execute and take seriously in practice and it'll show up on Sunday."

Practice seriously!

Tying the Lions is drama enough. No need to manufacture anything further.

• NFL ties are rare -- this was the first since Week 3 of the 2020 season -- so knowledge of how they work can be scarce, too. Even in the locker rooms. As Harris put it, "I didn't even know you could tie in the NFL. In my mind, I was sitting on the bench saying, 'I've got another quarter to go.' But someone came to me and said, 'That's it.' I've never had a tie in my life before."

I'm not a college football guy in the slightest, but I've always liked the NCAA version of overtimes compared to the NFL's. It's offense vs. defense from set points on the field and, best of all, it inevitably delivers a winner.

"Ties suck," Heyward said with no laughter, and I couldn't agree more.

• But both teams should have gotten Ls for this.

• The Chargers have lost three of four, including 27-20 to the Vikings yesterday in Los Angeles, and they'll still crush the Steelers there next Sunday night if there isn't a 180-degree reversal around here.

Alas, I won't be there to witness it. I'm making the annual pilgrimage to Manitoba, which this year entails covering the Penguins' weeklong trip through Montreal, Toronto and ultimately Winnipeg. Dale Lolley will fly to California.

Thanks for reading, as always.

THE ESSENTIALS

Boxscore
• Live file
Scoreboard
• Schedule
Standings
Statistics

THE INJURIES

T.J. Watt, linebacker, injured his left knee and hip in the fourth quarter and didn't return.

Joe Haden, cornerback, injured his foot in the first quarter and didn't return.

Kevin Dotson, guard, injured his ankle in the second quarter and was immediately ruled out.

Ben Roethlisberger, quarterback, was placed on the Reserve/COVID list Saturday.

Chase Claypool, wide receiver, didn't play after being held out of practice all week with a toe injury. 

THE AFC NORTH

 Baltimore
Cincinnati
Cleveland

THE SCHEDULE

Next game: Off to the left coast to take on the Chargers.

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THE MULTIMEDIA

Our game-related video, podcast:

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THE CONTENT

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