The Pittsburgh Steelers had an opportunity to really cement themselves into the AFC playoff picture with a victory over a struggling Arizona Cardinals team in Week 13 of the 2023 NFL season. However, they squandered it and found themselves getting blown out in what was a disastrous game for Pittsburgh, where they played horribly and suffered a magnitude of injuries. They have been receiving a lot of blame from the national media following the embarrassing loss to a team that is supposedly tanking for the upcoming 2024 draft, including being ridiculed by Rex Ryan.
Gene J Puskar / Associated Press
Steelers Kenny Pickett leaves the game due to injury against the Arizona Cardinals
Steelers Destroyed By Ryan On National TV
Coming into this game, the Cardinals had only won two games on the year and were battling for a top spot in the 2024 NFL Draft. The Steelers were favored by nearly a whole touchdown, yet they were the ones that found themselves down by 21 points at a time during the Week 13 contest. The final outcome of this game surprised many people in the NFL world, as the Steelers found themselves losing by a score of 24-10. This was an inexcusable and sloppy loss, and Ryan called them out for it on Get Up Monday morning.
"Frauds. They're frauds. How do you score ten points at home against the 30th ranked defense, like, that's ridiculous. Here's the funny thing, we're going to watch them in the playoffs."
The Steelers went into Week 13 holding the fifth seed in the AFC, which is the first Wild Card spot. Thanks to a loss by the Cleveland Browns, they did not shift at all in the standings despite the horrific loss. The Steelers offense has struggled all season long, and that is no secret. They fired former Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada prior to their Week 12 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, which the offense looked much better in.
However, second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett was hurt at the end of the first half against the Cardinals when he was playing well. This was the main factor in the Steelers only being able to score 10 points, along with horrific snapping by center Mason Cole.
Associated Press
Steelers Mike Tomlin looks on in disbelief as his team loses 24-10 to the Arizona Cardinals.
Ryan has a point to his rant. The Steelers looked dysfunctional in all areas of the game on Sunday. They had multiple illegal formation penalties on offense, they had three special teams penalties throughout the game and they were even called for having too many men on the field on defense. All of these things can be blamed on Mike Tomlin and the coaching staff.
Another factor that could have attributed to the many mental lapses that Pittsburgh fans saw on Sunday was the multiple delays to the game. The game had two 30 plus minute stoppages in the second half due to rain and lightning in the area. This is no excuse for the product that was put out on the field, but it certainly didn't help the Steelers as they tried to claw their way back into the game.
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Former New York Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan gets ready to coach against the Steelers
Ryan might already have some animosity towards the Steelers prior to seeing their awful performance in Week 13. He was a coach within the Baltimore Ravens organization from 1999 through 2008, and everyone knows how intense rivalries within the AFC North can be. He then went on to be the head coach of the New York Jets, and his team met with the Steelers in the AFC Championship Game at the end of the 2010 NFL season. The Steelers beat the Jets 24-19, and Ryan never got that close to a Super Bowl again.
Whether or not Ryan had some hatred towards the Steelers before making this rant is irrelevant. He was absolutely right. It was an embarrassing performance from Pittsburgh against a team they should have easily beaten. Losses like this are becoming all too common for Pittsburgh, and many are wondering if big changes are coming in the future.
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