Their 16-9 loss to a perennially mediocre Tennessee Titans team only served to magnify those problems.
No one figured fans would be clamoring for the return of Jonathan Dwyer after the first game, but repeatedly, the fact that he had only fumbled twice in his NFL career was brought up time and time again after his replacement, Isaac Redman, fumbled at the Titans’ 2-yard-line.
He not only fumbled away the football, he fumbled away the mounting momentum the Steelers gained on an early drive following one of the weirder starts to a season where the Titans literally gave away two points on the opening kickoff.
Aside from the fumble, he gained zero yards on four carries during a drive where QB Ben Roethlisberger could do no wrong. Even though it was early in the first quarter, it felt all too eerily like the Steelers of last year, and the life was sucked out of the stadium, never to return after a scoreless run of nearly four quarters.
Redman sealed the fate of the Steelers lifeless rushing attack when he followed that play up with another fumble on the ensuing drive, one he was lucky enough to recover. Unfortunately, the Titans no longer had to take the Steelers rushing attack seriously, with three quarters remaining in the game.
As if that wasn’t enough, a devastating injury to Center Maurkice Pouncey, , deprived the O-line of their centerpiece, no pun intended. Pouncey is by far the best player the Steelers boast in the trenches, on offense or defense.
There was no rushing attack and no downfield passing against the leagues worst pass defense from a year ago. The Steelers lost key players to injury, and Pouncey’s looked to be severe.
“Fans” were exiting in mass by the start of the fourth; unable to comprehend that their beloved Steelers could be stifled in a home game against the Titans.
The Steelers have to correct the course of their ship, or the 2013 season will be a waste before it even gets going.
But, as the die-hards will attest, it’s a four-way tie for first.
