The commentary below contains opinion. The author’s name has been withheld at the writer’s request.
The plan was working perfectly.
Let me rephrase that: The offensive game plan absolutely stunk, and all kinds of things were going awry — including the ridiculous decision to put James Conner in the wildcat at the Buffalo 10-yard line late in the first half. The overall battle plan, however, was playing out just as the Steelers might have hoped. All they needed to do was not screw it up.
They screwed it up.
After a wonderful, 69-yard touchdown drive to open the second half, the Steelers were right where they wanted to be — leading the offense-challenged Buffalo Bills, 10-7. That is when Mike Tomlin should have let his defense win the game. The Steelers had been way too pass happy up to that point. Way too wildcat happy, too. They were lucky to be ahead. But they were. And the Bills were going nowhere fast.
So why continue to wing it around? Why tempt fate?
A heavy accent on the pass was always going to be a bad recipe against this stellar Bills secondary, yet by early in the fourth quarter, the Steelers had 22 pass attempts against 14 runs. They finished with 38 passes and 15 runs, which is nuts. I mean, it's right up there with the time Mike Mularkey dialed up 38 passes in a 6-0 loss to the Jets in a New York blizzard in 2003.
Sometimes it’s OK to run it three times and punt — even if your punter is having a brutal night. Sometimes it’s best to run on first down (or any down) with a lead and a great defense.
Offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner just couldn’t help himself. Like the rest of the town, he apparently got swept up in Duck mania. He lost his mind, is what he did.
Listen, I’ve been as enamored with the Devlin “Duck” Hodges story as anyone. But once the Steelers took the lead, they really needed to simmer down. Instead, after forcing a Bills punt, Fichtner called for three straight passes. They resulted in minus-6 yards, two sacks and a Duck fumble that left tackle Al Villanueva luckily recovered. Oh, and another terrible Jordan Berry punt (this one was 39 yards, which sure beat the 22-yarder in the first half that led directly to a Bills touchdown).
Cam Heyward single-handedly shut down the next Bills series, making plays on three consecutive downs, and the Steelers regained possession as the third quarter wound down. They ran the ball on first down, threw a safe pass on second and moved the chains on Hodges’ 4-yard sneak.
Next came a safe pass to James Washington and a 5-yard run for Conner. So with 1:34 left in the third quarter, the Steelers lined up with a first down at the Buffalo 43, leading 10-7. Anyone in their right mind would have signed in blood for that scenario. It was time to kill some clock, run the ball, maybe throw a screen — Duck had been living dangerously all night, remember — and maybe pin the Bills deep or send out Money Boswell for a field goal and a six-point lead.
Fichtner called for a first-down pass. He tempted fate. Instead of leaning on Conner for a bit, the coordinator and the head coach decided to cast their fears aside and put the ball back in Duck’s hands.
And that is when the game changed for good.
Hodges’ errant pass (yup, a duck) — which actually had to travel a decent ways through the air even though it was recorded as a 10-yarder — was picked off by Buffalo’s star cornerback Tre’Davious White and returned 49 yards to the Steelers 18.
So let’s recap: The Steelers, luckily leading 10-7 and finally with a chance to settle down on offense, decided to challenge the best cornerback this side of Stephon Gilmore.
The defense held the Bills to a field goal, and sure enough, the Steelers came out firing again. Three consecutive incompletions led to another cruddy Berry punt and a Buffalo touchdown. And, ultimately, to two more Duck interceptions (he finished with four) and a renewed quarterback controversy. Tomlin was in no mood to talk about that after the 17-10 loss, the only good news being that his team is somehow still in playoff position.
“I’m not getting into that, guys,” he said, when asked if Hodges would be his quarterback against the Jets next Sunday. “We just lost a football game. I’m not going to make an announcement every week or every time I stand in front of you guys in terms of who is playing quarterback, or any other position for that matter.”
I still believe Duck deserves to start, but he should probably be on thin ice. Four picks will do that to a guy. Just ask Mason Rudolph. The difference is, Duck didn't look completely defeated. At least he kept moving the Steelers into position to tie (if only he'd seen a wide-open Washington on the second-to-last series).
Asked if he expected to be the starter next game, Hodges said, “I don’t know. I hope I’m the guy.”
If he is, the Steelers would be wise to get back to what worked the previous few weeks. Namely, protecting their quarterback by way of a sound game plan and better pass protection (the two are related).
Too much Duck is not a good thing.
First Published: December 16, 2019, 6:17 a.m.
