Mike Tomlin Sends Direct Message After Steelers’ Humiliating Loss

Getty Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is not happy following the team's 38-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is not a happy camper.

Following the Steelers’ 38-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh dropped to a record of 1-4. The first career start of rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett failed to give a boost to the Steelers, as they suffered their worst loss since 1989 when they lost to the Cleveland Browns, 51-0.

After the game, Tomlin sent a bold message to his players and coaches that he’s “absolutely” open to changes when it comes to the Steelers’ personnel.

“You play like we played today, you’ve got to be open to doing whatever is required to change the outcome of these games.” Tomlin said. “And so that’s a given. … I think everyone understands where we are and what transpired today, and it is not cool. So you can draw whatever conclusions you want to draw from it. That’s just the realities of our business at this level.”

Steelers’ Offense is Stagnant Even After Pickett Start

Pittsburgh suffered their fourth straight loss after winning their season opener over the Cincinnati Bengals. They were beaten in every phase of the game as the Bills actually started pulling their starters at the beginning of the fourth quarter after scoring their fifth touchdown.

The Steelers failed to score after netting a field goal during their opening drive. Najee Harris ran for just 20 yards on 11 carries while Pickett threw 52 pass attempts for no touchdowns and one interception.

If that wasn’t discouraging enough, four of Pittsburgh’s final drives ended either on a turnover on downs in Bills territory or on a missed field goal.

Despite Pickett’s rough first career start, Tomlin made sure to compliment the 24-year-old quarterback following the game, but stressed that the Steelers were “smashed.”

“I thought he was highly competitive,” Tomlin said of Pickett’s first start. “But I’m not, you know, dissecting it in this way as I stand here right now. We got smashed. And that’s the only perspective that I have. … Football is the ultimate team game. That’s why we all love it so much. That’s why we all respect it so much, and we got smashed as a collective today. And so I don’t have a lot of individual analysis.”

Steelers Simply Bad in All Phases of Game

There really isn’t anything positive to say about the Steelers heading into Week 6. Not only are they 1-4, they’re terrible on both sides of the ball. Pittsburgh is averaging 15.4 points per game, ranking 30th in the league. Furthermore, they’re allowing 25.6 points per game, ranking 26th in the league.

During their four-game losing streak, the Steelers have lost the turnover battle in three of those four games.

“We’ve got to absorb the position that we’re in, what transpired today,” Tomlin said. “We’ve got to know that there’s gonna be better days, not to provide or to seek comfort. Knowing that there’s better days that’s going to be born out of our commitment to making sure that they’re better days, and that’s what I talked to the team about. But where we are today, not good.”

With no immediate fix in sight, this is quickly looking like a rebuilding season for the Steelers.