Not what they hoped for: The excitement for the Steelers home opener turned into disappointment as the team lost 31-17 to the Seattle Seahawks at Acrisure Stadium.
"Certainly a disappointing home opener," said Coach Mike Tomlin. "There's a lot of things that we can do better in all phases, and in coaching, and we will.
"I compliment those guys on a winning performance. You know, it was still a ball game, man. There's a lot to be desired, certainly, but it's just interesting. We were in a close ball game last week and a special teams play broke it open in our favor. This week, we're in a close ball game and a special teams play broke it open in our opponent's favor.
"I just think that's life in this business at this level."
The play Tomlin was referring to happened in the fourth quarter. Rookie Kaleb Johnson didn't field a kickoff that landed in the 'landing zone,' and when it rolled into the end zone, the Seahawks recovered for a touchdown. It's a play Tomlin said they work on 'every day of our lives.'
"Poor judgment by a young player," said Tomlin.
Injuries mounting: With the defense already down three starters going into the game in safety DeShon Elliott, cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and defensive lineman Derrick Harmon, the last thing the team needed was more injuries against the Seahawks.
Unfortunately, that's just what happened. Defensive lineman Isaiahh Loudermilk and linebacker Alex Highsmith both left the game with high ankle sprains, while linebacker Patrick Queen was dealing with a rib injury, linebacker Payton Wilson with heat-related fatigue.
"We were down some bodies going into the game," said Tomlin. "We absorbed some attrition in-game. Many of those guys are new, so it's a challenge. We certainly are capable of better than that, so we'll keep working."
Can't ride the highs or lows: After throwing four touchdown passes a week ago against the Jets, and putting 34 points on the board, quarterback Aaron Rodgers had one touchdown pass, was sacked three times and threw two interceptions.
But the veteran knows that is life in the NFL, and you can panic or get frustrated early in the season because that is what the league is all about.
"Last week, probably there were some people feeling pretty good because everybody outside the building was talking about how great we were on offense and 34 points," said Rodgers. "That's the league. You can't ride the highs or the lows.
"You have to refocus every single week and be a professional. It starts with practice and the preparation, and so we just get a chance to reset. Take a look at what we did last week, what worked, what didn't work from the preparation standpoint? Do better next week."
Unlike a week ago the Steelers weren't as successful putting the ball in the end zone, having to settle for three Chris Boswell field goals.
Rodgers said that doesn't have an impact on players staying motivated, and he makes sure that is the case.
"I look at myself first and if we have a field goal, I probably wasn't effective enough in a situation," said Rodgers. "But I feel like we had a good couple of drives, defense is playing good in the first half, and we just came out and couldn't do a whole lot in the third quarter. Obviously, the play that took a lot of points off the board was the interception there on the three-yard line or whatever."
Stopping the run: The Seahawks rushed for 117 yards on Sunday, including rattling off a few long runs, the longest of the day going for 20 yards.
Linebacker T.J. Watt couldn't pinpoint what the issue was after the game, but knows it's something they are going to focus on correcting.
"We're going to have to look at it and break it down," said Watt. "Clearly, the same issues are rearing their head from last week, and in the NFL you don't have time to go back after each and every game and make the adjustments. You need to make the adjustments before they happen, and if they happen in-game, before they're allowed to continue to snowball like they did today and like they did last week.
"So back to the drawing board. I'm sure there's a multitude of different reasons why this is happening but we're way too talented. We have way too good of schemes to allow this to happen week after week."
Watt said they worked on the problems they dealt with in the running game against the Jets in Week 1 when they allowed 182 yards rushing, and he thought they had solved some issues.
"I was definitely confident," said Watt. "I think each and every week we feel confident going into the game. You never go into the game thinking negative thoughts, but clearly it wasn't enough.
"There's always an emphasis on the run. The first note of every single week is smash the run and you guys have heard me say for nine years we're always trying to smash the run and it's not a lack of trying. Schematically, effort, I don't know, we'll have to look at the film, but we need to be better, and we need to look in the mirror and we need to turn over every stone we possibly can because this can't continue to happen."
