10 Things I think I thought after the Steelers’ horrible Week 2 loss to the Chiefs

Still no local broadcast of the game where I live, so I was back at a wings joint. I won’t mention which one, but it rhymes with Ruffalo Child Sings.

Let’s get to it.

1. Watching this game would have been painful and unpleasant had I not had my beloved wife with me. Before their fourth touchdown was taken off the board, it looked like we would be down 28-0 in the first quarter, which must be a first in Steeler history, if not NFL history. Extrapolated out that would have been a 112-0 game.
2. Keith Butler must be the Bob Dole of defensive coordinators. Dole was made the Republican presidential nominee in 1996 because of his charisma. No, that’s not it. Because of his economic genius. No, that’s not it. Because “it was his turn.” Yeah, that was it. Maybe cutting a Hall of Fame coordinator for a guy in the wings was a bad idea.
3. It’s one thing to believe your press clippings after a 13-3 season. Altogether another to do so for your first two games. The Steelers, to riff on Dennis Green, are not who they think they are. Waving press clippings and Vegas odds at your opponent is not a path to victory.
4. I had half a mind to stop my piece right here. Three and out, just like our offense in the first quarter.
5. “Miscommunication” cannot be the problem with the defense because the whole world is reading this message loud and clear- “We stink.”
6. It is not a sin to order a burger at a wings place, especially if the burger is as good as the one I had.
7. The notion that Bell was crying in his soup after week one and dancing in the streets after week two is just silly. The sad truth is he cares as much about James Conner’s performance as he does the other 52 guys on the roster. If he cared one way or the other he would be on the field.
8. You can’t say that Bud Dupree didn’t make his presence known in this game. I noticed him early on, ten yards behind Mahomes as he threw his second, no his third, no, his fourth TD pass- who can remember?- giving him a neighborly wave as he went by.
9. Coaching cliches will not fix what ails us. Coaching, on the other hand, could conceivably do the trick. Time may tell, but Tomlin is not real good with time. Seriously, how do you give the Browns their first half-victory in a year and a half, and then not be prepared for your next game? I get the danger of panic, but I also get the danger of lacking urgency. When the Titanic first hit the iceberg, calm was needed. When its tallest smokestack went under, it was too late.
10. This week, Monday night on national TV, is a “home” game for me. And I’m grateful my hope will have an extra day to heal. It got banged up pretty bad.

Bonus Thought- It takes three things for Ben to throw 60 passes for over 450 yards, none of them good. 1. Weak run game. 2. Being behind, way behind. 3. Having your opponent not only score often, but score quickly. I suspect KC lost time of possession, which is easy to do when you find it so easy to score.