Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images Devin Singletary of the Buffalo Bills runs against Myles Jack and the Pittsburgh Steelers defense on October 9, 2022.
It’s no surprise that at least some Pittsburgh Steelers players were very upset about the team’s 35-point loss to the Buffalo Bills — the worst defeat of the Mike Tomlin era and the team’s worst beatdown in 33 years.
But to hear Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tell it, at least one Steelers defender believes some of his teammates weren’t sufficiently distraught by what transpired on Sunday afternoon.
“You have to love this,” said Steelers cornerback Arthur Maulet, being facetious, as he emerged from his stall and walked toward the middle of the visiting locker room after the game.
Ignoring pleas from select teammates to pipe down (owing to the presence of reporters), he continued his rant.
‘It’s 38-3 and (People) Are Laughing?’
“No man, you’re losing like that and guys are laughing and smiling on the sidelines? It’s 38-3 and (people) are laughing on the bench? You have to love it,” repeated Maulet, who has been with the Steelers since May 2021, when the former New York Jet signed a one-year deal in free agency. Then in March 2022 he re-upped with the Steelers for two more years.
According to Fittipaldo, Maulet declined to be interviewed before leaving the locker room but at least one of his defensive teammates was willing to go on the record about what transpired.
“You want that,” said Steelers inside linebacker Myles Jack, per Fittipaldo. “Everyone reacts to different scenarios in different ways. You want emotion. You want fire. You want people to be (ticked) off. If everyone was in here laughing and giggling it would be embarrassing,” he said, before noting that he hadn’t seen any players laughing on the sidelines during the game.
But Jack did seem to admit that the Steelers failed to match Buffalo’s energy.
“That’s a Super Bowl-caliber team, and for us to get on that level, we have to match their intensity,” he said.
Indeed the 38-3 final score was just one of countless ugly numbers that appear in the box score. Most notably, perhaps, Pittsburgh’s injury-ravaged secondary allowed Bills quarterback Josh Allen to pass for 348 yards in the first half, and he finished 20 of 31 for 424 yards and four touchdowns before giving way to backup Case Keenum.
Bills WR Gabe Davis Averaged 57 Yards Per Catch
Bills wide receiver Gabe Davis was responsible for a big chunk of that production, catching three passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns, a remarkable 57 yards per reception. Fellow receiver Stefon Diggs wasn’t bad either, catching eight passes for 102 yards and a TD. Khalil Shakir did a lot of damage too, responsible for three receptions for 75 yards and a TD.
All that said, it’s no wonder that Arthur Maulet was ranting in the locker room after the game.
But Myles Jack insists that the performance against the Bills won’t tear locker room apart.
“We’re sticking together as a team and we’re going to keep going. I don’t see us folding because of this. We’re (just) going through growing pains right now,” he concluded.
The schedule doesn’t get much easier in the coming weeks, however.
On Sunday Oct. 16 the Steelers host Tom Brady and the 3-2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After that Pittsburgh visits the 3-2 Miami Dolphins and the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles.