Sunday’s game in Kansas City followed a familiar script for the Steelers.
Their offense failed to generate any points and their defense failed to keep the Chiefs from finding the end zone, which added up to a 23-0 halftime deficit and a fifth-straight game without a touchdown in the first half. The last time the Steelers had a run like that was in 1940 and they’ve now been outscored 97-9 in the first halves of those games
In some of those games, the Steelers have rallied in the second half but that was not the case this Sunday. The Chiefs went up 30-0 after a Diontae Johnson fumble in the third quarter and cruised to a 36-10 win.
After the game, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who threw an interception one play after the Chiefs went up 7-0 in the first quarter, wasn’t able to explain why the team keeps coming out of the gates flat.
“It’s frustrating,” Roethlisberger said, via Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “Obviously, we want to go down the field and put points on the board. I don’t have an answer. I’m sorry.”
No other Steelers seemed to have an answer either with defensive end Cameron Heyward saying that the team can’t be “expecting something different and not doing anything different” to prepare for the next game. Heyward didn’t say what needs to change before they host the Browns next Monday night, but another result like the one on Sunday will leave the Steelers with a long offseason to ponder how to start faster.
