The Pittsburgh Steelers were back on the field Monday for the AFC Playoffs when they played the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card Round. The Steelers were losers in the contest, but that doesn’t mean every player had a good or bad performance.

Players who play well can be considered ‘Winners’, while those who left a lot to be desired can be called ‘Losers’. It may sound harsh, but it is the crux of this exercise.

Let’s check in to see who fell on which side of the ledger after the latest game…

Winners

Elandon Roberts
Stat Line: 5 tackles, 3 solo, 1 pass defense, 1 QB Hit

Let’s be honest, Roberts is basically playing with one arm. The Steelers were only able to use him sparingly throughout the game, rotating him in with the likes of Mark Robinson and Mykal Walker, but Roberts still made plays. The pass defense he had down the field on a tight end was beyond noticeable. At the beginning of the season I didn’t think Roberts had that kind of range at the position. Now, I wish the Steelers had 10 other Elandon Roberts, they’d be a lot tougher and formidable from top to bottom.

Chris Boswell
Stat Line: 1 FG, 2/2 XP, Needs More Credit

Chris Boswell wasn’t outstanding in this game, but he made all his kicks, something the opposing kicker can’t say. I put Boswell on the winners list for a job well done this season. He had a very strong season, and there were times when he could have made the winners list, but didn’t. So, I put Boz on the list today for a job well done for the season.

Losers

Turnovers
Stat Line: Two too many

In my “Keys to Victory” article I write before every game, I talked about how the Steelers can’t afford to turn it over once. Not “limit” turnovers, but can’t turn it over. They turned it over twice, and probably should have been three times. That is a recipe for disaster against a talented team like the Bills, and both turnovers were turned into 14 points by Josh Allen and company.

Pressley Harvin
Stat Line: Same old song and dance

I feel like I’m piling on the guy at this point, but let me put it this way. The Bills punter was essentially punting on one leg, and was still better than Harvin.

Play Calling
Stat Line: No creativity at all

The Steelers needed to have an offensive game where they came out and did some things different. Early play-action, taking some shots downfield, and bringing in a unique aspect to the play calling. What did we get? Predictable and safe. Anyone know when the Steelers took their first “shot” down the field? Try the last offensive drive of the game. That’s not going to cut it in the postseason, not against a team like the Bills.

Run Defense
Stat Line: 34 carries, 179 yards, 5.3 ave., 1 TD, 52 long

Yes, 74 yards of that 179 came from Josh Allen, but does that make you feel any better? It doesn’t for me, in fact it makes me feel worse. The worst part of the run defense was how in the waning moments of the game, when the team needed a stop, they couldn’t slow down the running attack of the Bills. It was a slow, and painful, death watching the Bills just run out the clock.

Big Play Defense?
Stat Line: Surrendered plays of 52, 34, 29, 17yd TD catch-and-run

No, this isn’t talking about taking the ball away, it’s talking about the defense giving up big plays. Whether it was Josh Allen’s 52-yard touchdown run, or Shakir’s 17-yard catch and run for a touchdown. The Steelers surrendered big plays in almost every quarter, and the Steelers failed to match those on the opposite side of the football.

3rd Down Offense
Stat Line: 5-for-11

3rd downs were tough for the Steelers, especially early on. Close, but no cigar, in the quest for .500.

Conservative Game Plan
Stat Line: Too predictable early

Early in this game the play calling was both conservative, and predictable. That is a really bad combination of adjectives when talking about game planning at the NFL level. The run, run, pass plan wasn’t working, and the Bills were putting the Steelers in a perfect situation to execute their game plan. They read man-coverage, and they had the tight ends to abuse it. Steelers showed zone coverage, and they knew just what to do. The Steelers didn’t do anything different, and they failed to mix it up on offense.

Minkah Fitzpatrick/Team Tackling
Stat Line: How many are too many?

The Steelers tackling was atrocious, and highlighted by the missed tackle by their All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick on Khalil Shakir. That wasn’t the only missed tackle, just see how many swing-and-misses the defense had on Josh Allen, but it was the dagger which killed the Steelers. The final nail in the coffin, if you prefer that analogy. It was bad, and it seemed as if the Steelers defensive backs had didn’t want any part of tackling in the cold.

Officiating
Stat Line: PIT: 6 / BUF: 2

Like so many times this season, the officiating is an ongoing issue in the NFL. The crew picked a bad time to get flag happy at times, and there were certainly questionable calls down the stretch. There were calls not made, and calls made which shouldn’t have been made…for both teams. I’d like for once to not have to talk about questionable calls, or non-calls, after a game.

Mike Tomlin
Stat Line: Lack of playoff success a huge issue

I can’t speak for anyone reading this article, or listening to the podcast in the player below, but I’m not into participation trophies. Sure, getting into the playoffs is nice, but it shouldn’t be the main objective. The fact is the Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since the 2016-2017 season. Tomlin talked before the game with Bob Labriola on how he doesn’t put that “luggage” on his team, they are his issues to carry. And he has to carry them, because the non-losing season streak is something, but so is this. Just getting there isn’t enough, winning when it matters is what counts the most.

If you want a more detailed look at the above list, check out my “Let’s Ride” podcast in the player below where I outline each Winner and Loser, and MORE!