5 things we learned: Lack of faith in running game late hurts Steelers' cause

Five things we learned from Patriots 21, Steelers 18:

1. Rundown feeling

New England entered the game with the NFL’s third-ranked run defense, so it wasn’t like the Steelers didn’t know they might have a difficult time running the ball.

Falling into an 18-point deficit in the first half also didn’t help the cause for continuing to run the ball. Still, the Steelers were held to 82 yards and averaged 2.9 yards per carry. This after they entered the game averaging 165 yards on the ground over the previous five games.

It spoke volumes that the leading rusher was quarterback Mitch Trubisky with 30 yards, and his 15-yard run on the opening snap for the Steelers offense was the longest carry of the game.

Running backs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren combined for 40 yards on 19 attempts.

Despite the lack of holes for the backs, it was surprising that the Steelers didn’t try to run the ball on third-and-2 from their 49 with 2 minutes, 5 seconds left in the game. The Steelers had one timeout left, but with the two-minute warning just seconds away, there was no need to use it.

It became moot when Trubisky threw an intermediate pass to George Pickens that was incomplete. Compounding the situation was that the play took just four seconds off the clock. That left the Steelers with no time to regroup and contemplate the fourth-down call unless coach Mike Tomlin wanted to use that final timeout, which he didn’t.

That led to the disastrous decision of having Trubisky look deep for Diontae Johnson. When the ball hit the ground, it essentially confirmed the final score.

2. Home sour home

With back-to-back stunning losses to a pair of two-win teams, the Steelers need a win in two weeks against Cincinnati to avoid the rarest of rare achievements — a losing record at home.

Since 1969, Chuck Noll’s first season, the Steelers once have lost more games than they’ve won at either Three Rivers Stadium or Heinz Field/Acrisure Stadium. That occurred in 1999 when, under Bill Cowher, the Steelers finished 2-6 at home and 6-10 overall.

Losses to Arizona and New England dropped the Steelers to 4-4 at home this season, joining earlier losses to Jacksonville and San Francisco.

Last season, when the Steelers had eight home games, they were 2-4 at home before beating Las Vegas and Cleveland to keep their streak intact.

3. Bye, bye, Bill?

If this is Bill Belichick’s swan song in New England, it couldn’t come soon enough for the Steelers.

No matter the venue, no matter whether it’s the regular season or playoffs, Belichick continues to have the Steelers’ number.

Since the Steelers defeated the Patriots at home in the 2011 season, they have lost eight of nine matchups, including the AFC championship game after the 2016 season. The lone victory in that span came in 2018, a 17-10 decision that coincidentally was the only win for the Steelers in a five-game late-season stretch that ultimately cost them a playoff spot.

This one marked the second year in a row the Patriots edged the Steelers by three points at Acrisure Stadium. Still, it might not save Belichick’s job as the Patriots, who are having their worst season since a 5-11 finish in 2000, his first season in New England.

4. Bad timing

A week after the Steelers were called for a season-high nine penalties, the only flag thrown against them over the first 54 minutes was an illegal formation call against Chuks Okorafor that was declined.

Their luck of a clean game ran out — and in a big way when long snapper Christian Kuntz was called for a false start after it looked like the Steelers had gotten the Patriots to jump offsides on a fourth-and-3 punting situation.

Instead of having a first down at their 43 with a chance to get a game-tying field goal, the Steelers had to punt from their 33. The call on Kuntz turned out to be the only penalty against the Steelers compared to seven for the Patriots.

5. Help needed inside

The Steelers still are seeking a reliable No. 2 inside linebacker for the middle of their defense. Thanks to Elandon Roberts’ suiting up despite a groin injury, they weren’t searching for two players to man the position.

Mykal Walker, Blake Martinez and even Mark Robinson took snaps while Roberts played 46 of a possible 57 snaps. Not only did Roberts get one of the Steelers’ two sacks, but he also factored in on a team-high six tackles and deflected the pass that Walker intercepted late in the third quarter.

Tomlin admitted the Steelers are feeling the effects of the season-ending injuries to Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander, particularly when it comes to covering the tight end. Hunter Henry caught two touchdown passes five days after Arizona’s Trey McBride had eight catches for 89 yards and a score against the Steelers.