Mike Tomlin not 'reading too much into' Steelers frustrations after lopsided loss to Bills

Mike Tomlin said slot corner Arthur Maulet had every reason to be upset after the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 38-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills, although he didn’t necessarily agree with the sixth-year veteran’s assertion that laughing and smiling was taking place on the sideline.

Maulet spoke up in the locker room after the loss, questioning the team’s integrity and passion in the lopsided defeat.

“When you’re getting smashed like that, emotions and (ticked)-off-ness is a component of it,” Tomlin said Tuesday at his weekly news conference. “You’re naive if you think it is not. We don’t like getting smashed. We don’t like getting beat, but getting smashed?”

The loss was the most one-sided in Tomlin’s 16 years with the Steelers and dropped the team’s record to 1-4.

“All of those things are normal expressions of frustrations,” Tomlin said. “Questioning of desire and things of that nature, that is what competitors do when you get smashed. I’m not going to read too much into it.”

Tomlin also didn’t take issue with former Steelers safety Ryan Clark, in his role as an ESPN analyst, saying the Steelers didn’t show much fight in the loss, absolving only rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett.

“Ryan is paid for commentary,” Tomlin said. “I understand that, and I think our guys understand that. He’s on ESPN every single day. It’s his job to talk about what transpired. We realize how poorly we played on Sunday. We don’t dispute anything that somebody says from a commentary perspective or dig too much into it. We’ve got so much work to do in terms of what is going on in here in preparation for our next opportunity, that is irrelevant.”

Injury update

Strong safety Terrell Edmunds will begin his second consecutive week in concussion protocol. He was limited in practice Thursday and Friday after not participating Wednesday and was listed as questionable on the initial status report.

The Steelers downgraded Edmunds to out on Saturday, the same day the NFL and the players association announced stricter return-to-play measures for players in the protocol. Tomlin said the new initiative didn’t pertain to Edmunds, but he is hopeful the fifth-year safety can clear protocol measures this week.

Cornerback Levi Wallace and tight end Pat Freiermuth also remain in concussion protocol after leaving the game in Buffalo early because of head injuries. Cornerbacks Ahkello Witherspoon and Cam Sutton are dealing with hamstring injuries. Witherspoon has missed back-to-back games, and Sutton couldn’t finish the game against Buffalo. Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick continues to deal with a knee injury that kept him out of practice last Wednesday.

Among non-members of the secondary, defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi will continue to be monitored for a back injury, tight end Zach Gentry is dealing with a knee injury and nose tackle Montravius Adams has a sore hip.

Running on empty

Najee Harris carried 11 times for 20 yards and is averaging 3.2 yards per carry for the season. Harris leads the Steelers with 222 rushing yards, a figure that ranks No. 33 among NFL backs.

Jaylen Warren got most of the work in the second half with the score out of hand. He finished with 24 yards on five carries and is averaging 4.9 yards per carry on the season.

“We’ve been playing Jaylen increasingly anyway, and I think that is going to continue,” Tomlin said. “I think he’s proven he’s a capable varsity player. We need plays from all parties involved. That has transpired and will continue to transpire.”

Tomlin said the time Harris missed in training camp with a Lisfranc injury could be a “component” of the second-year running back’s slow start.

Extra points

Tomlin said that, if healthy, Steven Sims will be used as the kickoff and punt returner against Tampa Bay. Sims injured his eye in pregame warmups and wasn’t on the field for the first kickoff return, which James Pierre fumbled away. Sims later had one kickoff return for 19 yards but did not field a punt, mainly because the Bills didn’t need to punt until the fourth quarter. … The Steelers brought back outside linebacker David Anenih to the practice squad. He was released when outside linebacker Ryan Anderson was signed to the 53-man roster Saturday. … Tomlin offered no update on outside linebacker T.J. Watt, who remains on injured reserve with a pectoral injury and recently underwent surgery on his left knee.