Tim Benz: Steelers offense didn't really 'run out of bullets' vs. Bengals; it just keeps shooting blanks

When it comes to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ disastrous red zone possession against the Cincinnati Bengals last Sunday, it appears coach Mike Tomlin is changing his explanation for what went wrong.

The ill-fated fourth-down play call is no longer a case of the Steelers having “fired all of their bullets.”

Now it appears the Steelers offense is just shooting blanks.

If you have forgotten the play in question — congratulations. For everyone else with memories longer than a fruit fly’s, it’s going to haunt you for a while.

Here’s a recap (and a video link) if you need a reminder. With 3:09 remaining in the game, the Steelers had a fourth-and-10 from the Cincinnati 11-yard line. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger swung a pass behind the line of scrimmage to running back Najee Harris, who then would’ve needed to run roughly 16 yards to pay dirt through a wall of Cincinnati tacklers with no Steelers blockers in front of him.

Unsurprisingly, the attempt was blown up for a one-yard loss.

Tomlin’s explanation of the play after the game left many scratching their heads.

“We had fired all of our bullets at that juncture in terms of some of our play selection,” Tomlin said. “It just wasn’t a good enough play to get in there. They had a picket fence (defense). They’re going to allow you to probably throw and catch the ball in front of them, but you’ve got to do some things after that. They had a bunch of guys running along the goal line.”

Most seized on Tomlin’s “we had fired most of our bullets at that juncture” comment.

Is he serious? Was the team actually devoid of red zone plays that could’ve worked from 11 yards out? Was the Steelers playbook so thin that they couldn’t extract one play that was potentially effective enough to score with the ball traveling 12 yards or more in the air?

If they had tried one previously that didn’t work, they had such little faith in it that they couldn’t dial it up again in a time of need?

That explanation was, um, curious. To be kind.

So, during his weekly Tuesday press conference, I asked Tomlin if that meant the team had to expand its menu of plays in the red zone or be more willing to go back to those that didn’t work previously.

“That’s just a snapshot of where we were at that moment. It was not a good day for us,” Tomlin said. “If you want to use that moment to illustrate how poor a day it was, then it’s a good play to do so. I’m not concerned about our options or the size of our menu relative to any in-game circumstances. It was just a poor day for us, and that play is reflective of it.”

I suppose that’s a “no,” Tomlin doesn’t seem to think a larger rolodex of red zone plays is necessary. However, Tomlin’s response was less about the Steelers offensive options from that area of the field and more of an indictment of how bad the offense itself has been.

Not just Sunday, but essentially for 10 of the 12 quarters played so far this year.

Tomlin is right in one sense. If you want to fixate on a play that best crystallizes how lousy the Steelers offense has been, that fourth-and-10 snap certainly qualifies.

Unfortunately, such evidence isn’t necessary. There’s more than enough than just that one piece of video.

And Tomlin’s response doesn’t provide any clarity as to why the Steelers seemed so boxed in that they had no other option but to dial up a play that appeared destined to fail against Cincinnati’s “picket fence” defense.

After all, if we are using “Hoosiers” analogies, Harris is a really promising player. But I’m not even sure Jimmy Chitwood in his prime could beat 11 Cincinnati Bengals at once.

Five guys from South Bend Central? Sure. Let’s not get crazy, though.

Even Roethlisberger admitted after the game that something else should’ve been called.

“You’re a little limited from that far out on what you can do except maybe throw a ball up,” Roethlisberger said. “In hindsight, we wish we would have taken a shot in the end zone. I wish I would have done that.”

Ben has never been shy about overriding play calls from the bench when he fears they’ll fail. He always appears to have the authority to do so.

That would’ve been a good time for “the old cowboy” to “draw one up in the dirt.”

Preferably one that had the ball traveling over the goal line.

The Steelers often struggle mightily to even get to the red zone. On the rare occasion that they do, they shouldn’t show up without enough bullets in the chamber.

Or, after the gun fight has been lost, we should at least get a better explanation as to why there wasn’t enough ammunition.