The boos that rained down in Heinz Field on Monday night were directed at Mike Tomlin and his staff — not at Mason Rudolph

... but he finally won a challenge

Without a doubt, Pittsburgh Steelers fans had reason to be disgusted with their football team on Monday Night Football. How in the world can their team fall two touchdowns behind the most woeful franchise in professional football?

However, the derisive chants and boos were not directed at quarterback Mason Rudolph, though he had a terrible start … nor were they directed at the offensive line, which was not doing a very good job … nor were they directed at the vaunted defense, which is probably overrated, and looked like a seize.

Instead, the disgust was general, and who is responsible for such a woeful performance?

Yes, media knuckleheads like the infamous Booger McFarland were blaming Rudolph for the boos, but he was coming off a concussion protocol and had not played in three weeks. They could be patient if that was just the reason.

Instead, the reality is that the Steeler fans’ patience with Coach Mike Tomlin is fading fast. It has been over the past few years as the Steelers have turned into a soap opera and have performed woefully in the playoffs — if they can make them at all.

As I wrote last week, the Steelers road to the playoffs this year is horribly slim. The fans recognize this, and with Tomlin’s reputation going down in flames last year over the Antonio Brown affair, the mishandling of Le’Veon Bell over the years, and missing the playoffs — they have reason to complain.

The OC did not exactly call another great game

Mason Rudolph took the blame, but it was not all his fault. Tomlin’s coordinators are feeling the heat, too.

First, Rudolph has a big arm, and offensive coordinator Randy Fichner has been reluctant to let him use it. And when he does, the play calls are obvious.

First and ten, they run. Everyone knows it. Then on third and eight, they throw. Everyone knows it.

And the defense was a sieve for those first two scores. The first turnover was bad, deep in their territory. Still, the vaunted defense allowed them to score not a field goal — but a TD. And then permitted them to drive the length of the field for another.

And the offensive line has been very inconsistent this season. They are aging, and it was obvious early against a weak team, though the running game finally started to move later.

However, the young players finally righted the ship — but a touchdown right before halftime finally kept the boos from trailing the teams and its coaches off the field at halftime.

The big play

The defense came up with two turnovers, and Rudolph and the offense were able to come up with some big plays to propel them to the win.

The young players who excelled were Rudoph, rookie receiver Diontae Johnson, running back James Conner, and receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.

However, the play of the game was one read correctly by Rudolph, who checked down to Johnson, who sprinted his way to a 45-yard score with just 17 seconds left before halftime.

At that point, I figured that we were back in the game.

So did the fans in the stadium.

As the Washington Post noted, though, the Steelers could thank the Dolphins for a questionable defensive scheme on that third and 20 situation.

Johnson’s long touchdown just before the half changed the tone of the game. The Dolphins had only themselves to blame for a questionable defensive approach. They blitzed Rudolph and didn’t get to him, and they left Johnson wide open in the middle of the field while giving extra attention in the secondary to Smith-Schuster.

Mark Maske, “Don’t look now but the Steelers, even in their 

trying season, aren’t completely done,” Oct. 28, 2019

The key there was not that it was a good call by the OC. Instead, Rudolph avoided the blitz and stood tall, found Johnson on the check-down, and then the Toledo standout sprinted to the end zone.

However, he had to make one last move to avoid the final defender. If that tackle was made, the Steelers may have had to settle for a FG.

Rudolph explained what led to the TD,

“It was really soft coverage, pretty much cover zero across the board and they doubled JuJu,” Rudolph said. “So he [Smith-Schuster] makes his plays and he also makes plays for other guys.”

Maske, Washington Post, Oct. 28, 2019

Instead, then went in down just 14-10 instead of 14-3 or 14-6.

And the offensive line started to block a little, using an unbalanced line to give James Conner some running room so that he could rush for 145 yards.

JuJu and Johnson each had five catches, with Schuster have 103 yards and Diontae 84, each scoring a TD. Rudolph finished with 20 of 36 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns — to go with an interception on his first pass.

Conner has an AC shoulder problem and may be questionable for Sunday’s game against the Colts, which could create another problem.

The defense came up with four turnovers and four sacks of Miami QB Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Tomlin finally wins a challenge

Heinz Field, incidentally, was not jammed pack as it usually is for a Monday night game. Still, the fans derisively gave Tomlin a sort of Bronx Cheer as he finally won a challenge.

The Post notes that Conner scored with 12:01 left, but the drive continued only after Tomlin challenged a spot on a fourth-down run by Fitzpatrick — and won.

Conner’s touchdown came after the Steelers won an instant replay challenge in the final seconds of the third quarter, overturning the on-field ruling that Ryan Fitzpatrick had gotten a first down for the Dolphins on a fourth-and-one quarterback keeper. The replay ruling came after a lengthy delay and enraged Dolphins Coach Brian Flores, who vented his displeasure to the on-field officials.

Maske, Washington Post, Oct. 28, 2019

The challenge

For Tomlin’s team to make the playoffs, it must continue to win since the Ravens are two games ahead of them. The Ravens have a tough schedule ahead of them, but the Steelers have back to back games against the Colts (5-2), who are leading the AFC-South, and the Rams (5-3), who made the Super Bowl last year.

Neither of those teams has been superb, but each has talent. Those two games are at home, but then they have to travel to Cleveland, which has underperformed but is dangerous, then to the Bengals, and then have the Browns at home.

The road will not be an easy one, especially for a team that dodged a bullet against the most woeful team in the NFL.