Hi everyone! Little Miss Tailgate here stepping in for this week’s post while BWG and KGB are off on vacation for the next two games. I am very excited to write my first official blog post that doesn’t relate to our annual trip in November!
BWG and KGB sure did pick a great week to go on vacation. I think I can confidently say on behalf of Steeler fans nationwide, this was a tough game to watch. Watching the Steelers fall 38-3 against the Bills was a painful sight to see. We made countless costly errors throughout the game from all departments.
Kenny Pickett makes his first professional start as a Quarterback in the NFL this week and made costly errors throughout all 4 quarters. However, he did throw for 327 yards. In my opinion, Pickett’s first start was spoiled by Josh Allen and the Bills. Overall, his performance wasn’t great but in his defense, he is a rookie Quarterback facing one of the best teams in the league.
Overall, our offense was subpar this week. Our offensive line hasn’t done a great job blocking this season and hasn’t been consistent. Pickett was sacked three times throughout the game which isn’t positive. Out of all the receivers, George Pickens was really one of the only notable standouts for having a good game. Chase Claypool, Dionte Johnson, and Tight End Pat Freiermuth also had good games, as they had key plays to advance the offense down the field. Ultimately, Pickens hit six out of eight total receptions with 83 yards for the whole game.
Under the leadership of the former quarterback coach turned offensive coordinator Matt Canada, the offense is deteriorating. As mentioned earlier, the offensive line hasn’t been consistent in blocking and the plays being called have been horrendous. Our coveted screen-plays haven’t fooled any team this season and ultimately we aren’t advancing down the field as we should be. Honestly, we just need better plays. The offense hasn’t been great with converting to first downs on 3rd and short plays either.
This defense is just overall abysmal. Our coverage just isn’t there. Specifically, this week, our defense looked very off. No one was tackling or covering receivers. The defense made costly errors. The only two notable plays from this defense were the fumble recovery toward the end of the third quarter and Levi Wallace’s interception in the second quarter. What this defense need is to go back to the basics. We need to focus on tackling and just maintaining good coverage on the receivers. This could be because we just finished our fourth consecutive week without TJ Watt. Since TJ Watt was drafted in 2017, when TJ Watt was absent the Steelers have gone 0-7. The bottom line, we need TJ Watt back ASAP considering our opponents in the following weeks.
As someone who has a lot of hope, I still believe in this team. We still have time to turn it around. From here we have some tough opponents ahead. We need to be sharp, communicative, and on the same page going forward. In the past, we have been able to turn it around, so I have faith in this team despite the tough schedule going forward.
BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!
– Little Miss Tailgate
My “GAME BEER” goes to George Pickens. Despite a tough loss this week, he managed to hit six out of his eight targets and went for 83 yards in total leading all of our receivers this week. Also considered for this was Levi Wallace after he had an interception in the second quarter.
Beer of the Game: Unfortunately, because I was by myself, I didn’t have a beer this week.
Where I watched the game: This week I watched from my room in my apartment because my friends were busy during game time. However, I usually watch the game at my friend’s apartment on Sundays.
“Steel the Snacks”: I had some of my Black and White cookies sent by KGB last week. While I’m at school, this is probably the toughest part to read for the blog since KGB makes amazing snacks and well, I’m jealous that I can’t have any. However, with KGB away, there are no exciting snacks to report.
My Stat of the week: Josh Allen had a whopping total of 424 yards for the entirety of the game. This is the most yards the Steelers have surrendered since Week 9 of 2013 against Tom Brady. On a more positive note, Kenny Pickett threw for 327 yards which is the most by any Steelers quarterback in their first career start in history.
My Thoughts on next week: Next week is going to be no walk in the park. The Buccaneers have a tough defense and offense. We must be sharp and at our best, if we want to come out of this with a win. It’s going to be a tough battle to fight next week and we’re just getting started.