If the Steelers and Mike Tomlin are speaking of making changes, they would have to at least show a willingness to do so.
A 30-6 beatdown at the hands of the Texans on Sunday exposed more than just Matt Canada's sophomoric offense. The Texans defeated the Steelers in all phases, and it started at the top with a game plan designed by DeMeco Ryans that completely dismantled the Steelers on both sides of the ball.
After the game, Tomlin prompted to say this:
"Hell yeah, we gotta make some changes, man. That was an ugly product we put out there. We're not gonna do the same things and hope for a different outcome."
That was a cry of acknowledgement and not action. Action needs to be taken to turn around a season that has seen few glimmers of positivity, despite a 2-2 record. The Steelers took their first steps of action Monday with a return to the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex for practice. A subdued locker room, occasionally hosting more reporters than players during a 45-minute session, refocused as they prepared for the upcoming clash with arch-rival Baltimore.
"Of course you are mad about it, upset about it," Markus Golden said Monday in that locker room. "But, this is the NFL. Once the next week comes up, today you watch the film and then you are onto the next team. That is the good thing about the NFL, you get to come back the next week and prove yourself. That is the mindset we are going to have."
If changes are to be made, then everyone within those walls needs to be willing to critique what just happened.
The season isn't completely lost due to their current record, but one could argue that this 2-2 team could easily be 0-4. The season-ending injury to Nick Chubb and Josh McDaniels forgetting how to do basic math in the Raiders game saved them from that fate. It's become increasingly clear that this team relies heavily on its defense to win games, and Sunday's performance was potentially worse than the 30-7 bludgeoning at the hands of the 49ers in Week 1.
"You've got to critique yourself. That's, really, what this business is," Keanu Neal said. "Especially when you lose you've got to go in and watch the film, critique it, take the constructive criticism, and learn from it and move forward. You can't be too critical, for sure. There's always something that you can learn and grow from."
The Steelers' deficiencies snowballed into this loss over the Texans, but the requisite coaches have to be willing to adjust anything and everything by this stage. The Steelers rank 29th in total offense and scoring offense. The defense has also allowed two 30-point efforts in four games, and is the 29th-ranked total defense in the league.
The Texans doubled the Steelers' 12 first downs, and outgained Pittsburgh, 451-225. There are batches of numbers to quantify how bad it was for the visitors, but these deficiencies are nothing new to this team.
The offense has scored four offensive touchdowns in four games, and now it might have to forge onward without Kenny Pickett under center because of a knee injury. A report from the NFL Network Monday evening said Pickett sustained a bone bruise and a strained muscle in his knee and "the door is open" for him to play Sunday against the Ravens.
Nonetheless, the AFC North leaders are not going to come lightly into Pittsburgh.
"Locking in what we've got to do this week," Golden said. "We're playing a great quarterback (next week) in Lamar Jackson, so we know we're going to have some things you've got to do to make sure you're containing him. Locking in on your job. I can't exactly tell you what changes, but I know exactly what we can do as players. Locking in, doing your job, and getting out there and getting ready."