Steelers HC Mike Tomlin on potential of QB change: 'Definitively no'

Mitch Trubisky and the Pittsburgh Steelers offense struggled again on Thursday night in a 29-17 loss to the Cleveland Browns, only furthering the calls for the team to switch to first-round pick Kenny Pickett.

Head coach Mike Tomlin, though, is not ready to have that discussion.

"I'm not in that mindset," said Tomlin after Thursday's loss to drop the Steelers to 1-2 on the season.

"I'm interested in reviewing this tape and figuring out how we collectively get better. So, the answer to that question is definitively no."

Trubisky was a little better on Thursday night than he was in the first two weeks and did take more chances in pushing the ball downfield. That was a big criticism of the offense in the first two games. Despite that, he still finished the game just 20-of-32 for 207 yards and no touchdowns. That is still only 6.4 yards per pass attempt.

While a quarterback change would be the easiest and most obvious move for a struggling offense, their problems go well beyond just that one position. The offensive line has struggled in the running game, the wide receivers had a tough night on Thursday with some potentially significant drops, and a huge gain that could have put the Steelers in a position to take an eight-point lead was wiped out by an offensive lineman being illegally downfield. 

On top of the personnel issues, the Steelers also have an overly conservative scheme that places a greater emphasis on simply not turning the ball over than trying to score points.

In three games the Steelers' offense has managed only 16 (a defensive touchdown in this game gave the team 23 points), 14, and 17 points.

That is not good enough to win in the 2022 NFL.