Pittsburgh Steelers: Five Takeaways from Week One debacle

By Donny Chedrick 

UGLY. UGLY. UGLY.

The Steelers played ugly on Sunday night. They were decimated, victimized and thoroughly outplayed from the opening kickoff to start the season in Foxborough with a 33-3 loss. Watching the game early on gave you the sense that the Steelers didn’t have Tom Brady figured out this time, unlike Week 15 last year at Heinz Field when Brady was held in check, culminating with a late fourth quarter interception. No – this Tom Brady was dialed in, attack-mode Tom Brady – and he showed it Sunday night.

341 yards on 24 of 36 passing and three touchdowns for the 42-year-old veteran. He spread the wealth and made it look easy, as he tends to do against the Steelers in New England. And his offense didn’t even feature the services of ex-Steeler and All-Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown, whom the Patriots agreed to terms with  Saturday night, following his loud exit from Oakland.

Quite frankly, the Steelers didn’t do anything well Sunday night. Here are five takeaways from the dismantling Week 1 loss in New England. Spoiler: a lot of them are negatives.

1.     An Ode to Roosevelt Nix

Of course, the fullback position has become less and less important as time has gone in the evolution of football. With that said, the complete dismay of one is something you don’t see often. Sunday night in New England, the Steelers were faced with several third and short situations where you would think an appearance from the fullback would take place. 

Nope. Not a single time.  Nix didn’t step on the field for a single offensive play in the 33-3 loss. I wish I knew why. Of anyone to be a little extra sour with Sunday’s beatdown, it should be Nix. Let’s hope we see him at some point.

2.     Lost & Found

Brady has never thrown an interception in a home game against the Steelers and we clearly saw why that was Sunday night. He normally has the Steelers’ defense in a different world out there. Brady often had the Steelers clueless on Sunday. Guys like Kam Kelly (we’ll get to him later), Mark Barron, Terrell Edmunds, Devin Bush (10^th overall pick in 2019 Draft) – basically everyone on the defensive side of the ball. TB12 usually had all day to throw. He rarely missed, but he didn’t have much up against him.

3.     AAF to NFL…to XFL?

We told you we would get to him later – Kam Kelly, that is. It’s a great story. A long-shot journey back to the NFL after being cut then making a name for himself in the now defunct Alliance of American Football. Kelly had four interceptions, including one he took for a touchdown in eight games for the San Diego Fleet this past spring. After impressing the Steelers during training camp, Kelly not only made the team, but found himself in a starting spot heading into week one due to an injury to safety Sean Davis.

Kelly got the start in prime time against arguably the greatest quarterback in NFL history. Although he wasn’t alone in the embarrassment, he was exposed a little bit extra by Brady on some deep balls to guys like Phillip Dorsett and Josh Gordon. 

He looked beyond lost, but hey, it was the first start for a guy in the NFL and he was put into a near impossible situation. Unfortunately, the future for Kelly may be up in the air after the 2019 NFL campaign and he could receive a call from another potential employer if he isn’t signed by another NFL squad. That man could be the leader of WWE and the reborn XFL – Vincent Kennedy McMahon.

4.     Sluggish Offense

Going into week one, especially in the 2019 version of the NFL, it’s often predicted that offenses will look a little slow. Starters don’t play more than a quarter, maybe a drive or at all during the preseason and in the Steelers’ case, they went into the first regular season game without one of the best wide receivers in the league in Antonio Brown. Like the defense, the offense looked bad Sunday night. Ben Roethlisberger struggled. JuJu Smith-Schuster had a tough time getting to six receptions for 78 yards. Donte Moncrief simply forgot how to catch, James Conner was a non-factor and on one occurrence, everyone on the line moved besides the center.

It was ugly, but hopefully it won’t become a pattern or else this team is in for a long season.

5.     Boswell made his kick!

Hey, don’t you worry, I tossed a positive in here! Chris Boswell was successful on his lone field goal attempt of the night and it was a long one at 19 yards. That’s closer than a usual extra point. Boswell may have even been a little surprised he got his number called considering the situation. Down 20 on the opening drive of the second half, the Steelers chose to take three instead of trying for seven from the one-yard line. It kept the game at three possessions and virtually changed nothing. But hey, it did get the Steelers on the scoreboard at the risk of being shut out.