Dec 16, 2018 6 min read

Well, what now?

That’s what Steelers fans are asking themselves after the team’s third consecutive loss, this one a 24-21 defeat last Sunday at the Oakland Raiders.

That’s right, the 3-10 Raiders, who, despite their victory, still own the worst record in the NFL.

Of course, the biggest issue in this game was not having quarterback Ben Roethlisberger available for four possessions in the second half. That basically meant the Steelers did nothing offensively for more than a quarter and a half.

It was just enough of a lull to allow the Raiders to figure out a way to turn a 14-10 halftime deficit into a victory.

Roethlisberger led the Steelers into scoring position in five of the six possessions in which he played, including the last five in a row.

Backup quarterback Josh Dobbs? His four possessions ended with an interception, a failed fourth down and a pair of punts.

This was why it was folly for this team to not go with veteran backup Landry Jones coming out of training camp.

You don’t think so? Jones completed 23 of his 28 pass attempts last season for 239 yards and a touchdown. His passer rating was 99.3. In 2016, it was 86.3.

Dobbs was 4 of 9 for 24 yards and an interception against the Raiders. That’s a passer rating of 12.0.

Dobbs might someday be a solid backup but he wasn’t in this case.

The Steelers have a No. 1 quarterback in Roethlisberger and a pair of third-stringers. If they miss the playoffs, the decision to keep Dobbs over Jones could be the one that proves costly.

• Much has been made of how long it took Mike Tomlin to put Roethlisberger back into that game.

Some are even doubting the Steelers’ claims that the X-ray machine in Oakland was outdated and nowhere near the field.

Let it be known the X-ray machine is located on the third level of Oakland-Alameda Coliseum, two floors above the field. And it’s on the opposite side of the stadium from the team locker rooms.

Oh, by the way, when Roethlisberger and the Steelers’ medical staff reached the X-ray room, there was no technician available. The technician had stepped out.

So not only did the Steelers have to look at an outdated film – hey, if it was good enough for George Blanda, it’s good enough for Roethlisberger – they had to wait to even get it done, then traverse around the stadium to get back to their locker room.

All of that said, it appeared Roethlisberger was ready to go back into the game a series before Tomlin put him back in. That was one series too long.

• With Chris Boswell continuing to struggle, the Steelers worked out a pair of kickers last week. Boswell missed a pair of missed field goals against the Raiders and is 10 of 16 for the season.

But the Steelers were never serious about replacing Boswell.

How do we know this? If the Steelers were serious about wanting to replace Boswell, they wouldn’t have waited to have the tryout until after Wednesday afternoon’s practice. And they certainly wouldn’t have done it at their indoor training facility.

In the past, when they’ve replaced a kicker, they’ve held the tryout at Heinz Field. You know, the place where they play their games.

• The Steelers are going back to Artie Burns at cornerback over Coty Sensabaugh today against the New England Patriots.

That tells me they plan to play a lot of man-to-man defense in this game. This is one of those games where you look at Burns and tell him, “You’ve got that guy.” Burns can do that.

That guy, in this game, should be Josh Gordon. Let Joe Haden cover Julian Edelman. And figure out a way to double team Rob Gronkowski so that he doesn’t kill you, as he usually does.

Then again, if you’ve seen Gronkowski run this season, that might not be the problem it was in previous years. Gronkowski is about as mobile as the Titanic at this point in his career.

The Steelers can only hope they can run him into an iceberg.

This week’s picks

New England minus 3 over Steelers: This game has been bet up to the Patriots being favored by 3. But the Steelers can win this game. In fact, they did beat the Patriots at home last season, if not for an idiotic rule. And the Steelers are the more talented team. New England’s defense isn’t good. And unlike previous Patriots teams, they don’t buckle down in the red zone, either. But not having James Conner available leaves the Steelers with no running game. And that’s a problem. It will be close again, but this Steelers team hasn’t shown the ability to not make a critical mistake at the wrong time. That will lead to a 27-24 Patriots win.

Baltimore minus 7½ over Tampa Bay: This is a big spread and that makes it a little dicey. The Bucs also have played better of late and the Ravens, as good as their defense is, have forced two fewer takeaways (10) than the Steelers (12). Go figure. But the Ravens should run the ball well enough to handle the Bucs in a 24-14 win.

Dallas plus 3 over Indianapolis: At 7-6, the Colts are very much alive in the AFC Wildcard race. But wide receiver T.Y. Hilton is all banged up and the Cowboys’ defense will be tough on quarterback Andrew Luck with Hilton hampered. The Cowboys also are playing better offensively. They’ll run the ball and play good enough defense to pull out a 27-24 victory.

New York Giants plus 1 over Tennessee: The Titans have been an enigma this season, while Eli Manning has been one his entire career. But Manning is on a good streak right now, even with Odell Beckham out of this game. Saquon Barkley will help the Giants control the clock. And coupled with receiver Sterling Shepherd and tight end Evan Engram, Barkley gives the Giants enough weapons to outgun the Titans in a 31-24 win.

Minnesota minus 7½ over Miami: The Dolphins beat the Patriots last week on a hook-and-ladder play that keeps their playoff hopes alive at 7-6. The Vikings were trounced in Seattle to fall to 6-6-1. They then fired their offensive coordinator. Minnesota is a far better team than the Dolphins, who might still be giddy over their win against the Patriots. Look for the Vikings to win in a rout, 34-17.