The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered their first loss of the Mike McCarthy era Sunday. The offense was the main culprit in the defeat, as the unit turned in a dismal performance versus the New England Patriots. The Steelers tallied 235 yards and only a field goal in the loss.
While speaking to reporters after the 20-3 loss, McCarthy blamed one person repeatedly — himself.
“Clearly not good enough. That starts with me,” McCarthy told reporters. “I felt it in practice, frankly. Coming off last week, as I stated, I felt like we were a little herky, jerky, trying to get in and out of the run and pass. The extra time you put forth, which you’re expecting in a game and you don’t deliver, it tells you you need to spend more time on it.
“What I’m referring to is, we put a lot of time and energy into the protection component of how we felt today’s game was going to go.”
The Steelers offensive line fell far short of expectations Sunday versus New England. The Patriots registered four sacks and seven quarterback hits versus quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who fumbled twice. One of those fumbles resulted in a Patriots defensive touchdown.
“The reality of it is, the detail is not there, and that’s on coaching. It starts with me. I’m calling the offense. I have to get the detail better; I felt it on Wednesday and Thursday, I’m a veteran coach. I know better; I didn’t do a good job.
“Offense needs to be better. Mike McCarthy needs to be better.”
Mike McCarthy Takes Blame for Steelers Offensive Woes
The Steelers offense largely didn’t get the results they wanted during the season opener against the Atlanta Falcons. But there were tea leaves of positive signs.
The passing offense for Pittsburgh was rather aggressive in Week 1. Rodgers’s air yards per attempt average was higher versus the Falcons than in any game last season.
But the Steelers couldn’t even attempt much down the field Sunday with how the offense was performing. The biggest problem was the offensive line’s inability to protect or create lanes in the run game.
McCarthy declined to commit to personnel changes along the line or otherwise on offense, but he did suggest repeated mistakes wouldn’t be tolerated. The head coach again blamed himself, though, for potentially overloading the offense with too much in the game plan.
“If it’s not clean, you cut the volume down. And we’re not clean on offense. So the volume is getting cut down. That’s the first starting point.”
Mike McCarthy Doesn’t Hold Back on Steelers Coaching After Patriots Loss