Tim Benz: Not possible for Steelers fans to 'seek comfort' after Mike Tomlin's press conference

When Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is attempting to answer a question from the media without coming off as if he is making an excuse for something that went wrong in the previous game, he loves to spin the phrase “we do not seek comfort.”

That said, after his team lost 30-7 to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, I think we could all use a little comfort somewhere.

Unfortunately, there was very little comfort to be found in Tomlin’s press conference Tuesday as his team attempts to rebound against the Cleveland Browns.

So when you can’t find comfort on your own, another option is to run out to the local beer distributor and buy yourself a six-pack. Because comfort can always be found there.

In that vein, here’s a six-pack of issues that came up during Tomlin’s presser that need to be addressed before the Steelers host the 1-0 Cleveland Browns on Monday night.

Drink up.

1. Getting around Cameron Heyward’s injury: With defensive end Cameron Heyward facing surgery for a groin injury, he could be out up to two months. That presents a major problem for the Steelers.

“Replacing Cam is not a one-man job, man, it is a multiple man job and a coach’s job because it changes your schematics when you lose significant players. We all acknowledge that. We all run to that, not away from that. That’s an opportunity for us to show what ‘team’ is about,” Tomlin said.

So what does that mean on the field? Well here are some ideas.

• Activate Armon Watts on game day and bring up run stuffer Breiden Fehoko from the practice squad for increased depth and versatility, especially this week against the ground-oriented Browns.

• When in the base 3-4, deploy a mix of Fehoko, Keeanu Benton, Montravius Adams and Larry Ogunjobi to battle the Browns’ run-heavy approach during run downs.

• Rely on a mix of DeMarvin Leal, Isaiahh Loudermilk, Watts, Benton and Ogunjobi to be the two-down linemen in passing situations.

• Pray for the best. “Make it a good one, Strap.”

2. The offensive line: Despite many negative reviews of the pass blocking by the Steelers’ offensive line, Tomlin gave a more favorable assessment.

“I thought they did an awesome job, particularly from a protection standpoint, minimizing (Nick) Bosa. And really, I thought from a protection standpoint, we were really solid until the very end when we got really one dimensional,” Tomlin insisted.

Eh, that strikes me as seeking comfort.

Indeed, Bosa was quiet, registering just one solo tackle and no sacks. And Tomlin is also accurate in the sense that three of San Francisco’s five sacks occurred on the game’s final drive when the horse had long since left the barn.

However, the O-line’s utter inefficiency at run blocking is what helped the team become one dimensional in the first place, and the pocket was cloudy enough, often enough to take away a lot of clean throwing lanes for quarterback Kenny Pickett to use.

If you buy into Pro Football Focus grades, the Steelers registered a pass blocking score of 31.0, worst in the NFL for Week 1.

That sounds less than awesome to me.

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3. Nick Chubb: Back to the run defense, here. It doesn’t strike me as if Tomlin is expecting the Browns to do what they always do — which is end up throwing too much against the Steelers when they seem to have things in control on the ground.

“I know what we need to be prepared for. In the National Football League, you can’t lose in the guts of the thing in the line of scrimmage. We gave up a lot of yards to a significant back a week ago (152 to Christian McCaffrey). It’s reasonable for us to maintain that posture, to respect Mr. (Nick) Chubb. He’s gotten us in the past,” Tomlin said.

Chubb has 653 rushing yards in nine games against the Steelers, second most in his career behind the Cincinnati Bengals (903). That’s an average of 72.6 yards per game against the Black and Gold, at a clip of 4.63 yards per carry, to go along with three total touchdowns.

And I bet all the numbers would’ve been much more if the Browns had been more diligent about staying on the ground in multiple games against the Steelers during his tenure.

Against the Bengals in Week 1, the Browns passed the ball 29 times and ran it 40 times. But when you consider Watson was sacked three times and ran it himself five times, that margin was a lot closer to an even split.

Cleveland ended up winning that game 24-3.

4. The Browns corners: I thought Tomlin made a really good point when talking about how much Cleveland corners Gregg Newsome II and Denzel Ward controlled the game against Cincinnati’s star wide receivers Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase.

“I thought if you wanted to summarize the game in a small number of words, their corner ability to stand up and man to man on the line of scrimmage versus Cincinnati’s receivers was the story of the game on either side of the ball,” Tomlin said.

Bingo. Higgins was blanked on eight targets. Chase had only five catches for 39 yards.

5. Diontae Johnson’s injury: When it comes to Diontae Johnson’s injured hamstring, Tomlin said he is likely unavailable this week. If Cleveland’s corners can contain those two monsters in Cincinnati, what are they going to do against the Steelers’ pass catchers, especially with Johnson out of the lineup?

That means Kenny Pickett’s receivers are reduced to George Pickens, Allen Robinson, Calvin Austin III, Miles Boykin and perhaps Gunner Olszewski.

6. Who is the next Aiyuk?: Based on Tomlin’s explanation, it sure sounds like Brandon Aiyuk’s big day for San Francisco was the result of the Steelers just running out of options to cover guys.

“Some of his exploits had to do with our desire to minimize (George) Kittle and Deebo (Samuel) and Christian (McCaffrey),” Tomlin said. “But that’s what makes awesome units challenging. They’ve got a lot of capable people who are able to rise up and make plays when others garner attention. I don’t think any of that is surprising to us. His evolution, particularly over the latter half of last year, is kind of reflective of that performance. We tip our cap to him. … He played a really good football game.”

No doubt. Eight catches on eight targets for 129 yards and two touchdowns certainly fits that description.

So if the Steelers expand similar efforts to contain Chubb and wide receiver Amari Cooper on Monday, I’d be worried about the likes of tight end David Njoku, versatile playmaker Elijah Moore or receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones having a big night at Acrisure Stadium.

Listen: Tim Benz and Steelers beat writer Joe Rutter break down the team’s loss to San Francisco and preview Monday’s game against the Browns.