Why does this Pittsburgh Steelers team give me so many Sunday heart attacks? Truthfully, I have no idea why. It’s probably a mixture of bad luck and too many close games.

As Steeler fans, we’ve come accustomed to playing in close games that shouldn’t be close. I will admit some of those games the Steelers have won but it’s still a way too close for comfort. I wonder how many adult beverages are drunk when the Steelers are driving down the field with two minutes left to go in the game.

With the way the offense has been playing, I imagine that number is up well above average. If the offense keeps playing poorly attendance will continue to fall as it has been since COVID.

It will probably be low until Kenny Pickett gets put in. Unfortunately, we will most likely have to wait until next year. Mitch Trubisky is not the answer, at least not for this season.

Everyone is hoping Pickett is. Some still have doubts. I can see why. In the preseason he played with second and third-string players, going up against other second and third-string players. You can’t predict someone’s season or career over a few preseason games with the JV squad.

I was hoping they’d put him in this Sunday against the Jets. It seems like the most reasonable time to start him. Coach Tomlin has other ideas. I guess his opinion matters more than mine.

I know Trubisky will start against the most brutal part of the schedule. He will somehow find a way to play well and somehow beat the Eagles, Bill, Bucs, and Dolphins. Every one of those teams has a way better quarterback than the Steelers.

But at the same time, you’re not putting in a rookie quarterback against those teams. His career would be over before it even began. Von Miller would crash the offensive line and be all over Kenny almost every play.

T.J Watt’s absence is hurting the team. They are now 0-6 without him. His presence on the field demands attention from the opposition. Without him, they don’t need to stress as much about how they’re going to block him. I was hoping someone like Alex Highsmith was going to step up in Watt’s absence. Nothing so far.

Matt Canada did a better job of opening up the playbook against the Browns, but Trubisky still was hesitant to take shots down the field. I know there is frustration in that locker room with the play calls and the play caller. I hope Tomlin addresses that sooner rather than later. Because Canada is now the new Todd Haley in how bad his play calling got towards the end of his time in Pittsburgh.

The future for the Steelers seems bright. The present does not. The offense needs to improve on the execution of plays. And it’s going to have to start with the play caller upstairs.