The Pittsburgh Steelers lose their second game of the season as they fall to the New England Patriots 17-14.

As the Steelers were down 10-6 in the third quarter, the Pittsburgh defense was able to force a punt to get the ball back. Former Patriot Gunner Olszewski was back to receive. As the punt was coming down toward Olszewski, he misplayed it and allowed the ball to hit off of his facemask. New England fell on the loose ball and was able to extend their lead soon after the turnover.

Now don’t get me wrong. Gunner Olszewski isn’t the only reason the Steelers lost to New England. The offensive line was terrible once again as the rushing offense was able to average a measly 4.1 yards a carry. Not to mention much of Mitchell Trubisky’s passing struggles were due to the constant pressure the Patriots were able to put on him.

It’s very clear that at this moment in time, the Pittsburgh Steelers are not a great football team. The offensive line is just one of the many issues the Steelers offense has had so far this season. Trubisky is a solid quarterback and would make a great backup. He’s not going to take a team to the Super Bowl and would have to get lucky to even make the playoffs. 

With first-round pick Kenny Pickett sitting on the bench, there have to be discussions amongst the Steelers as to who should start at quarterback come week three. Most likely Trubsiky will start again as he hasn’t been awful and it’s still early in the season. Taking him out now would be looked at as jumping the gun (and it probably is).

Putting Pickett in to play quarterback wouldn’t magically fix the offense either. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada has done nothing with his play calling that would give anyone any kind of confidence in him. Granted it’s hard to run an offense that is incapable of running the ball consistently or throwing downfield.

The Steelers’ defense is good enough to keep Pittsburgh playing competitive football. The only reason this game was close was because of Pittsburgh’s defense. Considering how bad the Steelers’ offense was, it’s a shock that the defense was able to hold New England to only 17 points. Minkah Fitzpatrick played well once again as he intercepted yet another pass. 

Pittsburgh has a short week as they prepare to head to Cleveland to take on the Browns on Thursday night. The good news for the Steelers is that the Browns lost their last game as well after blowing a 13 point lead to Joe Flacco and the New York Jets. Neither team is playing well going into Thursday so expect another sloppy, physical AFC North matchup.