Mike Tomlin not ready to panic over slow start by Steelers offense

The sting of a 17-14 loss still fresh in his mind, coach Mike Tomlin on Monday vowed to stay the course with his foundering offense as the Pittsburgh Steelers prepare to face the Cleveland Browns in three days.

The Steelers have produced two offensive touchdowns in nine quarters, fans at Acrisure Stadium chanted first-round pick Kenny Pickett’s name in the second half against New England and offensive coordinator Matt Canada has been criticized for conservative play calling during the 1-1 start.

At his weekly news conference, Tomlin didn’t absolve anyone of blame. He didn’t point any fingers, either.

“I’m not happy with much of anything when we just lost a game,” Tomlin said. “I’m also experienced enough to see the big picture and know we are still very much in development. I’m going to exercise patience and continue to teach and continue to learn in an effort to push this train down the track to get better.”

The only touchdown the Steelers scored against New England came after they fell into a 17-6 deficit and began increasing the tempo. Trubisky led a nine-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Pat Freiermuth and a 2-point conversion toss to Diontae Johnson.

Those points occurred on the first play of the fourth quarter. The Steelers got the ball back two more times but gained 12 yards on six plays, going three-and-out on each possession.

The chants for Pickett began before then. They started after Trubisky threw a pass to running back Jaylen Warren that was stopped for no gain on a third-and-8 with about six minutes left in the third quarter. Instead of the drive extending, the Steelers settled for Chris Boswell’s 52-yard field goal that cut the deficit to 10-6.

“I didn’t hear that,” Tomlin said of the chants for Pickett, “but I got a lot going on.”

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Center Mason Cole said Trubisky continues to command respect of the locker room.

“We know what kind of player Mitch is,” he said. “Mitch is a winner. He’s won in this league. He’s worked for this offense already, so there is no doubt in Mitch. Fans can cheer all they want. It is what it is. They are gonna do what they are gonna do. But everyone in this locker room and everyone in this organization believes in Mitch.”

That includes Tomlin, who isn’t ready to make a quarterback change — not with a divisional road game against the Browns looming Thursday night. Tomlin, in fact, gave a vote of confidence in his starter Monday.

“I’ve liked a lot from him, to be quite honest with you,” Tomlin said. “I think he’s done a good job of doing the things that come with the position: the intangible things, the leadership things, the communication things, detail and communicating the offense, working hard to execute our agenda. We haven’t scored enough points here the last couple of weeks, but that is a collective. It’s not just the quarterback position, not just the players. All of us are responsible.”

The offense’s struggles with Trubisky leading it were magnified in the fourth quarter Sunday. The failure to get a first down short-circuited any chance of a comeback.

On third-and-8 from the Steelers 13, Trubisky flipped a pass in the left flat to Najee Harris that gained only 2 yards. On the next series, with the Steelers facing a third-and-2 at their 28, Trubisky faced pressure and threw a pass to Harris down the right side. With linebacker Matthew Judon in his face, Harris was unable to make the catch, and the offense never touched the ball again.

“On one instance, they had a nice call,” Tomlin said. “They had a zero concept, and we didn’t have a lot of options. On another instance, maybe we should have thrown the ball down the field. You could go round and round. We own our mistakes and realize we have to get better.”

Tomlin said Trubisky has leeway to audible out of Canada’s play calls and take shots down the field such as when he sees a deep safety on one side of the field and no help on the other.

“There are probably one-on-one opportunities on the outside on every play concept we have,” Tomlin said. “It probably would require no changes. We have long-ball shots drawn up in a lot of things we do, and sometimes it’s whether or not we get the appropriate look we like or a matchup in that look.”

Tomlin admitted the Steelers need to be less cautious in some circumstances as it relates to Canada’s play sheet and Trubisky’s trust in making throws down the field. He just won’t let it become a divisive issue.

“When you lose and don’t have enough points and don’t produce enough splash, I think all of that is subject to debate,” he said. “But that’s not a debate we’re going to take part in.”