Airing of Grievances: Odious officiating, offensive offense, dented defense lead to Steelers loss to Jaguars

The Pittsburgh Steelers were bad. The officials were worse. The weather was lousy.

Aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the game?

After two straight wins, the Steelers took a major step in the wrong direction by suffering a 20-10 loss at home to the Jacksonville Jaguars (6-2) on Sunday to fall to 4-3.

Plus, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Kenny Pickett left the game with injuries on a short week before a Thursday night game against the Tennessee Titans.

As you may assume, this week’s “Airing of Grievances” is … expansive. And based upon Diontae Johnson’s rant against the officials, I’m not the only one airing them.

Where else do you start? I often gripe about NFL officials. But I only do that because my eyes still work and I have brain function.

I can’t say the same thing about the officials most weeks. Nor could I make any similar assessment of the NFL rule book they are paid to enforce.

I usually don’t begin our “Airing of Grievances” with the refs. In this case, I must. That officiating performance Sunday at Acrisure Stadium was an affront to the profession at any level of competitive sports.

I have no idea how Keanu Neal was flagged for roughing the passer on Trevor Lawrence early in the first half when Kenny Pickett later absorbed two similar hits that were unflagged. The second of those hits knocked him out of the game before halftime.

The flag that was thrown for a “right guard (Isaac Seumalo) having his helmet lined up over the ball” was, at best, anal retentive and, at worst, an example of an official deciding to make a call in advance of the snap, whether it was the case or not. It negated a 55-yard field goal by Chris Boswell, which kept the score at 9-3 after two quarters.

“I feel like I lined up in the same spot I did for the last eight years,” Seumalo said.

James Pierre was busted for a pass interference call that was so late that I momentarily wondered if it was a post-whistle infraction.

At the start of the third quarter, the Jaguars fumbled. The ball carrier, Tank Bigsby, was ruled down at first. The officials changed their minds a few moments after conferencing — one of many they had on the day — probably so it could be reviewed without a challenge due to the turnover. It was deemed that the fumble did occur before the runner’s knee was down.

So, essentially, the officials bailed themselves out of that one.

Steelers receiver Diontae Johnson shared some thoughts about the officials. He did not hold back.

“The refs were killing us the whole game. The same refs we had at training camp. But at the end of the day, we can’t keep complaining about the refs,” Johnson said. “I didn’t like the refs today. They must’ve gotten paid good today or something. But that field goal? That hurt us. We needed that.”

Johnson wasn’t done.

“They were calling some stupid stuff. They should get fined for making terrible calls and stuff like that. That’s how (ticked) I am. They cost us the game. I don’t care what nobody says. They cost us the game,” Johnson continued.

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“They wanted them to win. Everything was in their favor. They were getting every little call.”

The crew even had some questionable calls in favor of the Steelers. A second-quarter incompletion to Calvin Austin was deemed pass interference when the throw was probably uncatchable. And George Pickens made a great effort on a catch near his team’s sideline. It was ruled a completion. But the on-field officials got that one wrong, too, and the completion was overturned.

Look, I know the NFL is really hot to introduce its game to Europe these days. I’d advise introducing the game to its own officials first.

Find a fix: T.J. Watt had just two tackles and half a sack. He has been held without a full sack in three of his last four games. He has totaled only seven tackles in that time.

This is a tough ask, but the Steelers defensive coaches have to figure out a way to free up Watt.

Early in the game, it looked like Watt tried to take an inside path to the quarterback more often than he normally does. He was dropped in coverage a few times, like last week when he got that crucial interception against the Los Angeles Rams.

But whether it’s standing up Watt inside, once or twice (they did it on the last snap of the third quarter, for instance, and it disrupted a run play), or moving him back and forth from the right and left side more often, something has to be done to keep him influential in the game. The defense is way too reliant on him alone.

Or Watt has to figure out a way to somehow rush his way through the gauntlet of chips and double-teams he has been forced to face in recent weeks. Or — wait for it — someone else can take over the game.

Elandon Roberts did a good job with 1.5 sacks. Other players forced a few turnovers. But none of that equates to Watt’s splash-play potential.

Oh, that Steelers offense: Any hope of the offense gaining momentum after last week’s second-half performance was halted by another hideous display.

I know we can all point to Pickett being knocked out with that rib injury. And, yes, Mitch Trubisky’s fourth-quarter interception, down 17-10, was abysmal.

Andrew Wingard gets his first INT of the season

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I mean, triple coverage? On second-and-3? To Allen Robinson II? Seriously?

“Forced the throw on my part,” Trubisky said. “I tried to make a play downfield. They were playing a lot of two (deep) in the second half. Us playing behind, we were trying to push the ball downfield a little bit. They were clouding to George a lot. That one was invert. I was trying to get the ball to A-Rob. It was a force. That’s on me. I’ve got to be better (and) take what they give me.”

But it’s not like the offense was flowing with Pickett under center. He only amassed 73 yards on 16 attempts. He threw less-than-perfect balls on a few occasions to receivers who were “NFL open.” The most egregious was throwing behind Johnson, who was wide open in the end zone for what would’ve been a sure touchdown.

“I’m not saying we weren’t on the same page. I was expecting the DB to play a certain way. We just have to see it quicker. I’m not saying (Pickett) is not making the right reads. … I’m not saying he’s not working his butt off. He’s doing everything he can. But those little moments, those are game changers.” Johnson said.

The team had five three-and-outs. It only netted 191 passing yards against the NFL’s second-worst pass defense. Pressley Harvin had to punt six times. The Steelers only totaled three points off three Jacksonville turnovers.

Another false start: Yet another putrid offensive start to the game in this one. Pittsburgh’s offense started the first half with four straight three-and-outs.

It wasn’t just players, either. Granted, we gave you some examples of the players screwing up. Johnson also had two drops. But Matt Canada’s game plan wasn’t at all threatening, and yet again, he had some curious play calls.

For instance, a third-and-7 swing pass to running back Jaylen Warren that lost 1 yard.

I always get on Canada’s back for throwing short of the sticks. But this time, he threw short of the first set of sticks. What was that?

The Steelers had six series that failed to yield a first down. They were three of 12 on third downs.

Defense dimmed: While the defense was good enough to create three turnovers, there wasn’t much else to celebrate on its end, either.

The defense allowed 377 yards. Lawrence racked up 292 passing yards, had a 100 passer rating, and spread the ball around efficiently to various targets.

No Jaguars pass-catcher had a 100-yard day. But Travis Etienne (70), Calvin Ridley (83) and Evan Engram (88) all had 70 or more receiving yards. Etienne also had 70 rushing yards.

The defense also allowed the Jags to stay on the field for more than 34 minutes.