Is it time to panic?

December the 21st on Monday night football, the Pittsburgh Steelers officially fell to 11-3 on the season.  Who is to blame?  That is a question every Steeler fan is wondering and if you ask Ben Roethlisberger the blame is on him.  While the blame is partly on him there are many reasons the Steelers are struggling as a team right now.  Such as injuries, fatigue starting, and the lack of a running game. 

Let’s start with Big Ben Roethlisberger.  The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback just simply is not playing well within this three-game losing streak.  Ben was horrendous in the first half of the Bengals game.  He was simply just missing routine throws as well as wide open receivers down the field. Some noticeable moments that happened during the game were when he missed Diontae Johnson on a crossing route that would have been a chunk play, he did not see Chase Claypool running deep down the field, which would have resulted in at least a big play if not a touchdown and he tried to force a ball to Claypool across the middle that resulted in an interception. While he did have a horrendous first half with only 40 yards and one interception, Ben turned it around in the second half by throwing for 130 yards and a touchdown.  However, Ben has to hit the routine throws and make the correct reads downfield for the Steelers to have a chance in the playoffs. 

The injury and fatigue issues go hand in hand.  The Steelers are getting very thin on the defensive side of the ball.  As a result, the defensive snaps are increasing for every player and by the end of the game, it definitely started to show.  Depth at linebacker specifically is a concern.  Marcus Allen is good in coverage, however being that he is a converted safety, it is hard for him to make plays in the run game due to him being undersized.  Avery Williamson joined the team last month and already was thrusted into play-calling duties while still learning the scheme. 

One positive note from their latest loss to the Bengals is that the Steelers finally ran for over 50 yards, a mark they have not reached since their win over the Ravens on the 2nd of December.  Benny Snell took over lead-back duties for the injured James Conner and had 18 rushes for 84 yards.  If they can keep the run game going, this will hopefully take the pressure off of Big Ben as well as help the offense sustain long drives to help give the defense a breather.   Ben Roethlisberger said last week, “relax, we have three games left to figure this out”, well with there only being two games left to figure it out, now might be the right time for a little panic.