Unlike Previous Years, ‘23 Steelers Can’t Do Much About “Terrible” Disrespect

Ask TJ Houshmanzadeh about the curse of the Terrible Towel. Or Lendale White. A mere sideways glance at the yellow fibers of the Pittsburgh icon warrants some kind of shift in karmic balance, never mind cleaning your cleats with it or stomping it into the turf.

Apparently, the Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t get that memo. Or perhaps they did. Maybe Jacksonville respects the principles of karma as much as they and the rest of the NFL respect Pittsburgh’s offense at this point.

Late in Sunday’s game, after a bewildering throw into triple coverage, Jacksonville safety Andrew Wingard intercepted Mitch Trubisky and - as has become customary in the NFL following lax team celebration rules - ran to the south end zone of Acrisure Stadium with his teammates and did what was once unthinkable: they stole some Terrible Towels and twirled them in celebration of that very play. Perhaps rightfully so, that act of enormous disrespect toward the Steelers fan base earned a couple of harmless slaps to the helmet from those in attendance. That’s more than can be said of the Steelers team on the field, who had to stomach the blatant showboating and sulk off to the locker room. There, they would be safe to blame officiating for their loss and mumble this or that about “revenge.”

By the end of Sunday’s affair, amid the depressing overcast skies and persistent rain, all of Pittsburgh was experiencing flashbacks to week one. On that day seven weeks ago, 49er chants fans took over upon the departure of a disheartened Steelers Nation from their home stadium. While a lot has changed since then, circumstances behind the two crushing defeats were striking in similarity - with the one major caveat being the margin of defeat on the Steelers scoreboard. While a 49ers victory became apparent about halfway through the third quarter in that particular contest, the Jaguars had only amassed a lead of ten points halfway through the fourth, thanks to four field goals from Brandon McManus and a breakdown in coverage on Jacksonville’s lone touchdown, a 56-yarder from Trevor Lawrence to Travis Etienne. That said, a ten-point differential is a mountain to climb for Pittsburgh.

It certainly doesn’t help that the Steelers’ offense is stuck in neutral, telegraphing plays that even inexperienced Jaguars defenders knew were coming. One glance at the game tape tells the whole story: no holes to run through, no open receivers. Even bad luck is a factor, rearing its head at inopportune times. The opening shot to Diontae Johnson on the first play from scrimmage went through the former Toledo Rocket’s hands. It proves that scripting plays is indeed an issue, but it can’t account for poor execution.

Through seven games, the Steelers’ season is more or less mired in perpetuity, repeating the same day over and over as if trying to win the heart of Andie MacDowell in Groundhog’s Day.

If the theatrical comparison seems a tad forced, it was not nearly as forced as the aforementioned interception thrown by Trubisky, who forced the issue while the game was within reach, and then proceeded to dump the ball off multiple times on the game’s final drive while down ten. And it wasn’t quite as forced as running plays straight into the teeth of the Jaguars’ defense. Or as forced as Diontae Johnson stretching the truth and blaming the officials for costing Pittsburgh the game.

While the script of the Steelers’ 2023 season continues to repeat the same errors, the story remains unfinished. Somehow, the Steelers are 4-3, though now in third place in a competitive AFC North. However, the Steelers haven’t been the statistically superior team in many of their matchups this year, according to advanced metrics. Ironically, that storyline may have shifted on Sunday, as the Steelers lost despite winning the turnover battle and routinely shutting down the Jaguars offense once they reached the red zone.

All these contradictions can be true in the case of the Steelers in 2023. Especially in regard to the officiating, which definitely left a lot to be desired, but in no way impacted the game’s ultimate outcome.

On Sunday, the better team may have lost. And in the ensuing days and weeks, as Jaguars players, fans, and Twitter accounts continue to troll Steelers Nation, it will become more apparent that the “lesser team” - and evidently more classless team - won.

Be it as it may, football is a game of divergent motivations. You play it for money, you play it for fame. But sometimes, you play it for pride, even if it may be misguided.

Late last week, George Pickens took offense to verbal shots fired from Jacksonville’s defense, calling them a “hope defense,” as if they merely hope their corners aren’t tested by talented receivers such as GP himself. Jacksonville fired back on the field with triumphant trash talk and post-game commentary, even turning one of Pickens’ many memes against him on Twitter.

To be truthful, we in Pittsburgh may have taken Trevor Lawrence’s “little yellow towel” remark a tad too harshly as well, as the rest of his pre-game press conferences oozed respect for Pittsburgh’s football culture. But in the end, who can blame us for our reverence of the Towel. It’s more than a towel, after all.

The Towel stands as an everlasting symbol of Pittsburgh and its inventor Myron Cope. To honor Cope and his family, Terrible Towel sales benefit individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities at Merakey Allegheny Valley Schools. For whatever it’s worth, it’s more than a towel, though it can be turned into a prop in the hands of a few bad actors on any given gameday.

For now, the Steelers must swallow their pride and prepare on short notice for a Thursday night matchup with the Tennessee Titans, who march into Pittsburgh touting a potential franchise quarterback at the helm. Will Levis, in just one game this past Sunday, has already put together a better performance than the Steelers’ Pickett has in more than a season’s worth of action. And no matter how many Towels are in attendance at Acrisure or how many times Renegade is played, the Steelers must play up to their potential, especially on offense.

Pride is a relatively fickle thing, as proven by the subtle shots and overreactions on the part of both the Steelers and Jaguars. But pride in a team, a city, and everything symbolized by the Terrible Towel, must count for something. While Myron might be uttering more “yois and double yois” than any other time in Steelers history if he were still here with us, we also know that there is something oddly special about this team. 4-3 is no accident, and for that, the Steelers have every right to be proud while yearning for more, much more. They must return to that point of pride this Thursday night.