Grievance broadcast: Steelers loss to Green Bay highlights complaints from Holy Trinity fans: play appeal, umpires, QB

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There was a lot to say in the wake of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 27-17 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

Most of the criticism was about the holy trinity of Steelers fan agitation.

• Blame the referees.

• Blame the quarterback.

• Blame the call of play.

In the case of Sunday’s result, all of those complaints were valid. So let’s go straight to this week’s “Grievance Broadcast”.

10 point swing: At the end of the first half, Minkah Fitzpatrick blocked a basket and brought it back for the touchdown. It would have given the Steelers a 17-14 lead, but the game was called off by an offside.

It was a bad call.

Even when the room was slowed down to a nanosecond, it doesn’t look like Joe Haden was offside on the left edge of the rush.

Former NFL official and CBS official commentator Gene Steratore seems to think it was a clean game too.

It was a huge moment in the game because, as we learned from week 1 in Buffalo, the Steelers’ best offense is to block a kick and return it for a touchdown.

Officials in these situations must be 100% sure of this call before throwing a flag, and there is no way that official could have been 100% sure.

When Packers kicker Mason Crosby got a second chance, he hit a field goal for 26 yards to give the Packers a 17-10 lead before the break.

Fourth grade fiascos: There had been a week of guesswork as to why the Steelers missed a dump against Najee Harris in a fourth game in a crucial situation against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Remember? It was the now infamous ‘we shot all our bullets’ play.

Well, they must have run out of ammunition again on Sunday at Lambeau Field. On a fourth and 4 from Green Bay 32 at the end of the third quarter and down 27-10, the Steelers swung the ball to the right flat and Harris was hit for a one-yard loss.

In the series that followed, the Steelers didn’t have a chance to miss a fourth attempt because Diontae Johnson was flagged for a false start. So they kicked.

Then, in the next practice, the Steelers threw sticks again in the hopes of a catch and run. But JuJu Smith-Schuster was tackled short of the line to win.

What… are they thinking…? “If at first you don’t succeed, fail, fail again? “

Smith-Schuster seemed less than satisfied on the sidelines.

After the game, coach Mike Tomlin didn’t give much explanation.

“When we go for that in fourth, obviously it’s our intention to get the winning line. We haven’t been able to do that over and over,” Tomlin said.

Maybe Green Bay was leading a “picket fence” defense like the Bengals.

Minkah missed: In the Packers’ second practice, quarterback Aaron Rodgers tried to pass Randall Cobb in midfield. Cobb was well covered and Rodgers knocked him down.

Fitzpatrick was there but couldn’t get an interception. Cobb’s outstretched hand may have lightly brushed the ball to change his flight at the last minute, but an All-Pro like Fitzpatrick has to make that play.

Instead, the bullet fell for harmless incompleteness. Green Bay’s practice continued and Rodgers used a short touchdown to tie the score at 7-7.

Once a turnover machine, Fitzpatrick hasn’t had an interception (counting the playoff loss to the Cleveland Browns) in 11 games.

Once again, however, his blocked basket should have counted, and he led the team with eight tackles.

Tangled in the middle: Many in Pittsburgh have complained about the Steelers’ failure to use the attacking midfielder this season.

Part of the reason is probably because Ben Roethlisberger sees so much pressure from defensive linemen pushing his blockers back into the pocket.

This was the case in the second quarter when Kingsley Keke of Green Bay shoved Steelers right guard Trai Turner straight into Roethlisberger’s face. Kingsley pulled the ball away to Roethlisberger.

Kenny Clark picked up the fumble for Green Bay, and the Packers converted the turnover to their second touchdown. The Steelers now have five freebies in the last three games.

By the way, maybe that turnover will never happen if Roethlisberger doesn’t miss a wide-open Smith-Schuster on a second and a 6 on the previous game.

The arm goes wrong: After this first touchdown, Roethlisberger was inaccurate in the first half, missing many open receivers.

He failed to hit an open Smith-Schuster three times – or maybe only twice according to your point of view. James Washington and Diontae Johnson also missed open targets before half-time.

On a second play in the third quarter, Roethlisberger and Smith-Schuster missed the shot again when the receiver appeared to be open on a play that could have gone for a score of 80 yards.

It could have been a misunderstanding between the two, more than a stray throw. The same can be the case on an out-and-up to Diontae Johnson in a second play in the third quarter in which Johnson opened up and jumped for a high throw, but he was too big for his arms tense.

Roethlisberger also missed the mark on a short pass to Najee Harris after TJ Watt’s fumble recovered late in the third quarter.

Disappointment in third place: The Packers had five of their first six conversions for third in the first half. Overall they were 9 out of 15, but 7 out of 10 before the game became a done deal.

Many of those conversions went to Randall Cobb, who had five catches on six targets for 69 yards and two touchdowns. The Steelers largely contained star receiver Davante Adams (six catches, 64 yards), but Cobb’s contributions made the difference.

Rodgers only came under pressure twice in the first half. His third quarter touchdown against Cobb was the 420th of his career, placing him tied for 6th all-time with Pitt legend Dan Marino.

Was “Watt” with TJ?: In his first comeback from that first-half groin injury against the Las Vegas Raiders, TJ Watt was a ghost in the first half. He only had one tackle.

He also seemed slow trying to catch Aaron Rodgers on his touchdown run.

In the second half, Watt was slightly more visible, securing two extraordinarily generous sacks. One was on a play that was originally considered a trip. The other was a touch-up when Rodgers slipped past him following a savage scramble as the game was well in hand for the Packers.

He also recovered a fumble thanks to the good play of Chris Wormley.

It wasn’t a hard-hitting homecoming for Watt, however.

“We need more detail in our game,” Tomlin said of his defense. “The detail will provide the splash we need for the important parts.”

The Steelers defense allowed 23 first downs, 131 rushing yards and 367 total yards. The Packers held the ball for 34 minutes and 41 seconds.

Tim Benz is an editor for Tribune-Review. You can contact Tim at [email protected] or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication, unless otherwise specified.



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