Madden Monday: Steelers 'would’ve been smarter to play Mitch Trubisky all season'

Back when “the standard” really was “the standard” for the Pittsburgh Steelers, no one would be hunting for a silver lining at 6-8 and last place in the AFC North.

But standards surrounding the Steelers have slipped dramatically over the past six years since their last playoff win, so we do stuff like that now in Pittsburgh. Take, for example, the month-long quests by fans and media to hunt for relevance within the denouement of this wayward 2022 season.

Can the Steelers keep microscopic playoff hopes alive through Christmas? Can the Steelers extend the streak of non-losing seasons to 19 straight years? Can they sweep the NFC South?

Ick. There’s a low bar.

But at least the Steelers finished off that final all-too-attainable goal Sunday, by winning their fourth game in four tries against that woeful NFC division. Coach Mike Tomlin’s team did so by going to Charlotte, N.C., and beating the Panthers 24-16.

That means four of the Steelers’ six wins have come against a division so putrid, all of its teams are 6-8 or worse. So essentially being a de facto champion of a cross-conference division is far from impressive in this case.

In fact, as Mark Madden of TribLIVE and 105.9 The X pointed out during this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, it’s a little dangerous.

He suggested this latest win over another bad NFC South team just makes it easier for the Steelers to fool their fans — and themselves — into thinking that they are better than what is really the truth.

“It lets the Steelers prop up an illusion, not least to themselves, about what they have to do to win,” Madden said. “They won this game against Carolina by running the ball and playing defense. That’s how they prefer to play. That’s their style dating back to the Super Steelers of the ‘70s. But it ain’t going to work against a good team. And it ain’t going to work over a 17-game schedule. It reinforces their way of doing things, but they can never win — playing that way — enough.”

More Steelers

• Feats of Strength: Steelers win run game battle, 3rd downs, red zone en route to victory over Carolina
• Steelers use running game, defense to defeat Carolina
• Mike Tomlin: Steelers show lack of smarts by committing 3 personal fouls in win at Carolina

On Sunday, the Steelers outrushed Carolina 156 yards to 21 yards. Those 21 yards were a season low for the Panthers and a season best for the Steelers defense, which also held the New Orleans Saints (another NFC South team) to 29 yards back on Nov. 13.

As for the Steelers’ quarterback situation, Kenny Pickett has a short week to get cleared and prepared for the Las Vegas Raiders. They come to Acrisure Stadium this Saturday night. Mitch Trubisky led the team to a win on Sunday in Charlotte, despite only posting 179 yards passing. Madden expects the Steelers to go back to Pickett for the contest against Vegas.

“I do. But they would’ve been better to play Trubisky all season because he is their best quarterback,” Madden insisted. “I don’t see how anybody can look at the way Pickett has played in his time and how Trubisky played in his time and not conclude that Trubisky is the better quarterback.”

Both QBs have completed exactly 65% of their throws. Both have thrown four touchdowns. Pickett has eight interceptions. Trubisky has five. Pickett averages 179 yards per contest, Trubisky 178. Trubisky also has a higher passer rating (81.1 to 74.9), and his yards per pass attempt (7.0) is a little more than Pickett’s (6.1)

But Pickett is the Steelers first-round pick, and Trubisky is a veteran on his third team with just one year left. So expect the Steelers’ preference toward playing Pickett to continue over these last three weeks in the name of developing the No. 20 overall selection in the draft.

Also in the podcast, Madden and I discuss the recent play of the Penguins. We get into the World Cup Final, and we look at the numbers of new Pirates catcher Austin Hedges.

Listen: Tim Benz and Mark Madden talk Steelers, Penguins and more