With each passing week, the meltdown of the Pittsburgh Steelers 2019 season becomes more and more public. This was a team that was supposed to be able to focus on football and remove themselves from all the drama. Unfortunately, drama still follows this team in all the worst ways and Pittsburgh now sits at 0-3.
Our friends over at Touchdown Wire updated their power rankings and the Steelers continue to tumble. In their latest power rankings, Pittsburg checked in at No. 24. Here’s what they had to say about their placement after their loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
How do you lose a game, 24-20, despite your opponent turning the ball over five times — and four of those times in the red zone? If you’re the Steelers and you want to accomplish this ignoble feat against the 49ers, you start by limiting your quarterback. Mason Rudolph, in for his first start in place of the injured Ben Roethlisberger, completed two passes that traveled over 1 yard in the air. Both of those longer throws were touchdowns. And hey, when your quarterback isn’t throwing past the line of scrimmage, enemy defenses get to load the box with impunity. What happens then? Your team tends to run for 79 yards and no touchdowns on 22 carries. Pittsburgh’s front seven is still a force, and the secondary was improved with Minkah Fitzpatrick, but if offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner doesn’t turn to page two of the playbook, the 0-3 Steelers are in for a very rough season.
The Steelers now return home to take on the winless Cincinnati Bengals in the battle for the bottom of the AFC North.
