Every time questions come up about the Steelers' offense taking the next step toward becoming a truly formidable unit, the answers from coaches, players, etc., always focus internally, never trying to make excuses. And the one thing that's been consistent in those answers are self-inflicted wounds.
In the Steelers' 25-10 loss to the Chargers on Sunday night at SoFi Stadium, the game didn't get out of hand until the second half. In fact, there was a moment in the second quarter when, if the offense would have done what it's done so well all season, the entire game could have played out differently.
On the first three possessions of the game, the offense totaled five whole yards and netted just one point. The Steelers went three and out to start the game. Chris Boswell kicked a 59-yard field goal after a poor Chargers punt immediately put them in field goal range. Then, Aaron Rodgers was sacked in the end zone for a safety.
Nursing a 3-2 lead with 14:16 on the clock in the second quarter, the offense was finally putting together an encouraging drive on its fourth possession. Rodgers hit a couple of nice intermediate passes and Jaylen Warren rattled off a couple nice runs. Before you knew it, the Steelers had a second-and-1 just inside the Los Angeles 20-yard line. Then, Kaleb Johnson gained seven yards up the middle to give the Steelers a new set of downs:
However, Troy Fautanu was flagged for holding, backing the Steelers up to a second-and-10 and the 29 instead.
"I've gotta go a better job of keeping my hands inside," Fautanu said after the game. "The ref had told me I was hooking the defender. It's frustrating, but I've gotta clean that s--- up."
Fautanu was upset over the play because the drive wound up stalling out. Rodgers sailed a pass on second down that Jonnu Smith initially came down with as a catch, but was reversed after Jim Harbaugh challenged the play. Then a quick throw to Kenneth Gainwell in the flat was thwarted well short of the sticks, forcing another attempt by Boswell.
What makes it hurt even more is Boswell missed his attempt from 45 yards, his first true miss of the season. So, instead of making it a 10-2 or even 6-2 game, the Steelers walked away with nothing.
This kind of stuff is maddening. Rodgers chalked it up after the game simply as "frustrating." But, this is not the first time anyone on the Steelers sideline has lamented over issues such as these. Just a couple of weeks ago in their loss to the Packers, Mike Tomlin pointed at penalties as the primary reason the offense stalled after a great first half.
This is not a new issue. It's one that's becoming a serious problem, having entered Sunday night's game with the second-worst average time of possession. Sustaining drives has been a major problem and kept the offense from reaching its potential. Self-inflicted wounds such as these have been one of the symptoms.
Now, maybe the Steelers score a touchdown on that series and they still lose the game. That's entirely possible. But, without this one mistake, maybe a touchdown there could have given the offense the energy it needed to play more effectively and possibly win.
"Sometimes in the game, when it's just not going (well)," Rodgers said regarding the lack of energy on offense, "it's just one of those days where we just couldn't quite get over the hump and get some first downs."
THE ASYLUM
The Big Play: Another self-inflicted wound
Every time questions come up about the Steelers' offense taking the next step toward becoming a truly formidable unit, the answers from coaches, players, etc., always focus internally, never trying to make excuses. And the one thing that's been consistent in those answers are self-inflicted wounds.
In the Steelers' 25-10 loss to the Chargers on Sunday night at SoFi Stadium, the game didn't get out of hand until the second half. In fact, there was a moment in the second quarter when, if the offense would have done what it's done so well all season, the entire game could have played out differently.
On the first three possessions of the game, the offense totaled five whole yards and netted just one point. The Steelers went three and out to start the game. Chris Boswell kicked a 59-yard field goal after a poor Chargers punt immediately put them in field goal range. Then, Aaron Rodgers was sacked in the end zone for a safety.
Nursing a 3-2 lead with 14:16 on the clock in the second quarter, the offense was finally putting together an encouraging drive on its fourth possession. Rodgers hit a couple of nice intermediate passes and Jaylen Warren rattled off a couple nice runs. Before you knew it, the Steelers had a second-and-1 just inside the Los Angeles 20-yard line. Then, Kaleb Johnson gained seven yards up the middle to give the Steelers a new set of downs:
However, Troy Fautanu was flagged for holding, backing the Steelers up to a second-and-10 and the 29 instead.
"I've gotta go a better job of keeping my hands inside," Fautanu said after the game. "The ref had told me I was hooking the defender. It's frustrating, but I've gotta clean that s--- up."
Fautanu was upset over the play because the drive wound up stalling out. Rodgers sailed a pass on second down that Jonnu Smith initially came down with as a catch, but was reversed after Jim Harbaugh challenged the play. Then a quick throw to Kenneth Gainwell in the flat was thwarted well short of the sticks, forcing another attempt by Boswell.
What makes it hurt even more is Boswell missed his attempt from 45 yards, his first true miss of the season. So, instead of making it a 10-2 or even 6-2 game, the Steelers walked away with nothing.
This kind of stuff is maddening. Rodgers chalked it up after the game simply as "frustrating." But, this is not the first time anyone on the Steelers sideline has lamented over issues such as these. Just a couple of weeks ago in their loss to the Packers, Mike Tomlin pointed at penalties as the primary reason the offense stalled after a great first half.
This is not a new issue. It's one that's becoming a serious problem, having entered Sunday night's game with the second-worst average time of possession. Sustaining drives has been a major problem and kept the offense from reaching its potential. Self-inflicted wounds such as these have been one of the symptoms.
Now, maybe the Steelers score a touchdown on that series and they still lose the game. That's entirely possible. But, without this one mistake, maybe a touchdown there could have given the offense the energy it needed to play more effectively and possibly win.
"Sometimes in the game, when it's just not going (well)," Rodgers said regarding the lack of energy on offense, "it's just one of those days where we just couldn't quite get over the hump and get some first downs."
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