5 things: Are there any stones left for Mike Tomlin to overturn in attempt to fix Steelers?

Five things we learned from Vikings 36, Steelers 28:

1. Stone cold

In his postgame address, coach Mike Tomlin said he would “turn every stone over” in order to find the right personnel or scheme to fix the Steelers’ problems in the trenches.

The issue is whether any stone remains to overturn. Tomlin has tried every possible option on the 53-man roster and practice squad. On Thursday, he used Buddy Johnson, Marcus Allen, Justin Layne and Miles Killebrew in various roles on defense. Johnson took snap in place of a benched Joe Schobert and Allen saw playing time as a dime linebacker.

Injuries to T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith left Taco Charlton and Derrek Tuszka as the only available outside linebackers.

Rashaad Coward, freshly elevated from the practice squad, played a couple snaps in place of left guard John Leglue, another former practice squad player. Aside from inserting Zach Banner at right tackle and finding a place on the left side for Chuks Okorafor, there’s not much Tomlin can do to fix an offensive line that keeps getting manhandled at the point of attack.

Tomlin said he will use the 10-day layoff between games to identify options that will give the Steelers a chance to compete up front. But the trade deadline is over, four games remain and his options are few.

As Norman Dale said in “Hoosiers” after he refused to replace a player who had fouled out, “my team is on the floor.” So is Tomlin’s, and it just feels like the Steelers are playing a man short these days even if he keeps putting 11 players on the field.

2. Falling down

When Ben Roethlisberger was sacked five times by the Vikings, it was the most in a game since November 2014 when he was dropped five times in a win against the Tennessee Titans.

Of course, Roethlisberger was 32 then and had five veteran linemen blocking for him. The Steelers had two third-year linemen (David DeCastro, Kelvin Beachum), one fourth-year player (David DeCastro), one in his fifth season (Maurkice Pouncey) and one in his sixth (Ramon Foster). Chalk it up to a bad day since four of those linemen kept protecting Roethlisberger for the next several seasons.

This year, Roethlisberger doesn’t have the luxury of veterans blocking for him, which could be a reason he’s expected to retire after the season. And who can blame him, considering there is no promise that the line will be better in 2022.

The lineup sent out Thursday night featured two rookies who have struggled in pass protection, a veteran guard on a one-year deal, a two-year starter at right tackle and an undrafted free agent (and fourth starter at the position) manning left guard.

Consider that in Roethlisberger’s previous two full seasons, spanning 31 starts, he was sacked a combined 37 times, including a career-low 13 in 2020. In 12 starts this year, Roethlisberger has been sacked 30 times. And four games remain.

3. Spoon collection

Making his second consecutive start at left corner, Ahkello Witherspoon had his first career multi-interception game. Witherspoon picked off Kirk Cousins twice in the second half, and the Steelers converted each turnover into a touchdown that aided the failed comeback from a 29-0 deficit.

Witherspoon entered with four interceptions in 51 career games, and he became the starting option only when Joe Haden’s initial replacement, Justin Pierre, was beaten badly on a couple of long touchdown passes, the latest coming in a 41-10 loss at Cincinnati.

Witherspoon, memorably known for allowing a deep touchdown pass to Henry Ruggs in September, has turned out to be a capable substitute. He had a better day than right corner Cameron Sutton, who couldn’t keep up with K.J. Osborn on a 62-yard touchdown catch that provided the Vikings a breather after the Steelers had pulled within 29-20.

4. Uphill chase

Chase Claypool took a seat on the bench after his unnecessary roughness call in the first quarter moved the ball from the Vikings 39 to the Steelers 46. The Steelers needed a 5-yard scramble from Roethlisberger on fourth-and-4 to get Claypool off the hook. Then again, the Steelers could have used the extra yardage when Chris Boswell’s 49-yard field goal attempt missed wide left. A closer kick may have gotten inside the upright.

It was the eighth time Claypool was penalized this season. No other NFL wide receiver has more than five.

On the next series, Claypool needed a replay review to get him off the hook after officials ruled he fumbled while fighting for extra yardage at the Steelers 34. The review showed that Claypool’s knee hit the ground before the ball came loose, and the Steelers maintained possession.

Claypool’s undisciplined play showed up again on the final drive when he took time to strike his “first down point” while the clock was running inside 40 seconds and the Steelers out of timeouts. The display and the ensuing confusion over retrieving the loose football cost the Steelers seconds they could have used after Roethlisberger’s pass into the end zone was knocked from tight end Pat Freiermuth’s grasp on the final play.

5. Short drives

On three of their scoring drives in the first half, the Vikings began with prime field position. They got two touchdowns and a field goal on possessions that began at the Minnesota 39, 43 and 40.

The first score — a 14-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson — began after Chris Boswell missed a 49-yard field goal. The next two times the Vikings took over, they got a 39-yard field goal and Dalvin Cook’s 7-yard touchdown run. These drives began after a Pressley Harvin punt that netted 27 yards and another boot that went out of bounds.

The Vikings’ other touchdown drive of the opening half, which ended with Cook’s 29-yard run, began at the Minnesota 22 only because of a holding call on the return unit. Otherwise, the Vikings would have started at their 44.

In the second half, the Vikings got short field goal drives to put them ahead 29-0 after taking over at the Steelers 34 and 30, the latter occurring after a Roethlisberger interception.