There will be a lot of talk today about how the Steelers gave away their football game against the Cleveland Browns and about how an ill-advised trick play cost them at least three points and about how their quarterback took a sack -- when he absolutely could not -- and how they could have won this game several different ways.
There will be endless talk-show calls about Bill Cowher's coaching decisions and still more about virtually every play in a 23-20 loss yesterday at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
But such talk misses the point, which is this:
If Jerome Bettis hadn't thrown that interception on the trick play or if Kent Graham hadn't taken that sack or if Cowher had done things differently and if the Steelers had won: So what?
These were the Cleveland Browns, a second-year expansion team, the Steelers were playing. This was the team the Steelers beat by 43 points last September. There's no sense in talking about how close they come. It's all about how incredibly far they've fallen.
A game against the Browns is one a decent team puts in the win column at the start of the season and keeps it there. The Browns were particularly vulnerable at home, where they hadn't won until yesterday.
The Steelers are among the worst teams in the National Football League. Their next three games are against the Tennessee Titans, New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars, with the latter two being on the road. The Steelers are looking hard at an 0-5 start. They're looking hard at becoming the laughing stock of the NFL.
They've have lost two in a row to the Browns and three of their past four to the Cincinnati Bengals. Even the softest touches on the schedule are difficult chores for the Steelers. An 0-16 season isn't likely, but how can anyone rule it out?
Cowher-haters are probably celebrating today, attempting to place the blame for this defeat on the coach. To be sure, Cowher stands in the forefront of those who must accept the blame for this team's abrupt and staggering decline. But to suggest his decisions yesterday were the cause for this defeat is ridiculous.
This was a loss based solely on player execution, not coaching strategy.
This was a loss forged in the first quarter when the Browns moved almost at will for touchdown drives of 62 and 61 yards on their first two possession.
This was a defeat made possible not by the decision of Cowher or offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride to call a halfback pass on the Browns' 20 in the third quarter but by Bettis' inability to hit a wide-open receiver.
This was a loss attributable to Graham's inexplicable failure to get rid of the ball on what became the final play of the game and not on Cowher's absolutely correct decision to throw a pass into the end zone, which would either produce a winning touchdown or an incompletion that would stop the clock and enable the Steelers to kick a tying field goal.
The Steelers lost this game because they allowed second-year quarterback Tim Couch to pass for a career high 316 yards. They lost because after tying the score early in the fourth quarter they allowed the Browns to move 96 yards -- most of which came on a 79-yard pass play -- to retake the lead.
The Steelers are running out of options. They've changed quarterback to alleviate what many thought was their largest problem, and, despite his monumental goof on the final play, Graham has been a distinct upgrade.
Linebacker Levon Kirkland spoke optimistically about the future. Where does the team go from here, he was asked?
"We just bounce back. That's what we do. You don't hold your head down, you walk out like a warrior and keep playing hard. We have to keep playing hard until it gets better.
"I feel good about this team. It's going to get better."
Maybe his teammates will heed Kirkland's words and follow them. Maybe the Steelers will make a remarkable turnaround.
But this game left many bruises on their psyche. Graham, for one, has taken a step back in his teammates eyes. Quarterbacks shouldn't make such mistakes, particularly veteran quarterbacks.
Beyond that, the constant losing has to be taking its toll.
There are tough days ahead for the Steelers and Cowher. Based on what we know their recent past, they don't seem capable of handling them.
Bob Smizik can be reached at bsmizik@post-gazette.com.
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