Madden Monday: Blame for 'scared' Steelers offense misplaced — look to Mike Tomlin, not Matt Canada

Pittsburgh Steelers fans definitely noticed that the Miami Dolphins nearly took down the Buffalo Bills in their AFC playoff game Sunday. As the seventh seed in the AFC playoff bracket, the Dolphins went to Buffalo and only lost 34-31 despite being 13-point underdogs.

That result seems to have Steelers fans convinced that if their team qualified for the last wild-card spot, it would’ve finished off the upset.

The Pittsburgh Steelers would be advancing right now.

— Jared Kane (@BaddestBearJew) January 15, 2023

I agree. I think the Steelers would have beat them.

— Roberto il Destro (Non-Bidenary) ???????????????? (@destroil1) January 16, 2023

Many won't wanna admit it, but Steelers would have beat the Bills the way they played today… #HereWeGo

— Corey (@COREfromthechat) January 15, 2023

Steelers would've beat the Bills if they played like this????

— Owen (@PGHOwen) January 15, 2023

Those that disagree simply cite offensive coordinator Matt Canada as the reason why.

I would believe this if we didn’t have Canada

— Jimmy (@JimmyNewell1) January 15, 2023

Steelers & mighty Matt Canada offense woulda’ fared poorly. Final: 31 - 19.

— Chance Wayne @FinraFraud (@ChanceWayne4) January 16, 2023

Steelers would never have been able to put up 31 points.

— Ed Cleary (@EdCleary1) January 16, 2023

The bills would’ve scored the same , and the Steelers would’ve put up 17.

— Drew Cleary (@DrewCleary77) January 16, 2023

Doubtful that Matt Canada and the offense could have scored enough points to win. Mia scored 31 and it wasn’t enough.

— Paul Corrie (@PaulCorrie9) January 16, 2023

In this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Mark Madden of 105.9 The X said that he noticed the same trend.

“What the playoff results — especially the narrow Miami loss to Buffalo — did with the Steelers fans, they are now more certain than ever that Matt Canada is the problem,” Madden said. “They say, ‘All these teams, look how they play offense! You have to have a good offensive coordinator to do that.’”

But Madden believes the true problem with the Steelers offense may lie elsewhere.

“Maybe you need to have a (head) coach who isn’t scared of his own shadow too,” Madden said. “I believe it’s Mike Tomlin who has that offense scared of its own shadow. … The Dolphins have a better offense than the Steelers, even with Skylar ‘What’s His Name’ (Thompson) at quarterback. Because they are not scared to death of an interception, they take chances. They try to make plays. They try to score points.”

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For as much as Steelers fans seem to direct their blame at Canada, though, Madden thinks he’s staying in his current position for 2023.

“I’m pretty sure he’s not going anywhere. I was told that on Friday. He was at the facility on Saturday anyway. To me, it sounds like he is staying,” Madden predicted.

Also, during the podcast, Madden and I discuss Andrew McCutchen’s return, the Penguins’ playoff hopes and our coaching experiences during the Robert Morris hockey celebrity game.

Listen: Madden Monday podcast — The future of Matt Canada