The Pittsburgh Steelers got routed 30-6 against the Houston Texans in a Week 5 matchup that makes everyone in the Steelers building look bad.
The Steelers now drop to 2-2 in the AFC North with very little to look forward to in depressing season.
In every aspect of the sport, the Steelers were outplayed by the Texans. They lacked the mental toughness to come back once Texans' C.J. Stroud started to string together touchdowns, and there was never a chance for Pittsburgh to get back in this game.
Is it time for the Steelers to make some changes? Mike Tomlin certainly thinks so.
Here are three Steelers to blame after their putrid loss to Houston.
Steelers to blame: Matt Canada
At some point, the Steelers have to address the elephant in the room. Barring an anomaly in Week 3, offensive coordinator Matt Canada has not proven he's capable of commanding a team during his time in Pittsburgh. The Steelers failed to score a single offensive touchdown as their six points came from field goals alone. Kenny Pickett got injured on a questionable play-call, and Mitch Trubisky struggled to generate much of anything when he subbed in.
Fans on Twitter angrily roared at Canada's humdrum play-calling that was deemed lazy and predictable. He can't figure out how to get the Steelers' offense going early in the game, and when the Steelers sink into a hole, he has no idea how to get the team out of it.
Canada doesn't deserve all the blame, but a significant portion at the very least. How many more times do the Steelers have to lose for the franchise to consider making a change at the coaching level?
Steelers to blame: T.J. Watt
Going into Week 5, the Steelers were projected to feast upon a severely depleted Houston offensive line, one that consisted of a practice squad left tackle and a sixth-round rookie at center.
Somehow, the Steelers' pass-rush was rendered ineffective and C.J. Stroud didn't get sacked once. We'd expect more from the dominant T.J. Watt as well as other big playmakers like Alex Highsmith.
No sacks in this game is simply unacceptable. Watt still recorded two tackles and one quarterback hit, but given his recent dominance, one would expect him to set the edge a little better. Taking a rookie like Stroud to the ground would have changed the tone of the game, whether it's about gaining momentum in key scenarios or crushing their opponent's morale.
Sacks are only one metric to judge a pass-rushing unit's performance; however, it still feels like the Steelers' outside linebackers let the team down this game. The offense did for sure. We just expect more from the defense.
Steelers to blame: Montravius Adams
Since Matt Canada assumes most of the blame in the offense, we're nitpicking another defender here. The Steelers' defensive line flailed as a whole against the Texans, and Montravius Adams unfortunately gets the spotlight.
In Adams' second full year in Pittsburgh, the veteran has been playing a career-high 59 percent of snaps. He looked stout at the start of the season and enjoyed his share of highlights, displaying his impressive run defense and ability to plug the gaps. Where was all of that on Sunday?
The Texans did not have an efficient running game going into this matchup and continue to rely on a backfield of Dameon Pierce and Devin Singletary. Those two combined for over 100 yards this afternoon.
This could simply be a flukey poor performance from Adams, and he's not getting much help from his teammates. When the Steelers take on dual-threat Lamar Jackson and the Ravens next week, Adams will need to step it up.
