Kirk Herbstreit hasn’t made many friends with his takes over the last couple years, even if he was right on this night.
The Baltimore Ravens smacked around their bitter rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, in the first half Saturday night to the tune of a 21-0 halftime lead. It wasn’t particularly close either, with Baltimore dominating. They owned the ball for over 20 of the opening 30 minutes, ran 23 more plays and were out-gaining Pittsburgh 308-59.
Herbstreit, who is coming in off a Cotton Bowl broadcast that saw Ohio State defeat Texas, wasn’t feeling the intensity of the NFL playoffs.
‘If I were a Steelers fan the thing that would concern me just watching this first half, you’re in the postseason,’ Herbstreit said. ‘You’re getting dominated. I don’t see any fight. I don’t see any pushback.’
He wasn’t done, clearly irritated at the lack of fight from this once-proud franchise.
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‘It’s one thing to lose X, O’s against a really talented offense, but where the hell is the fight?’ Herbstreit added. ‘This is the Pittsburgh Steelers. There’s nothing. They’re just going through the motions.’
Herbstreit suggested giving Justin Fields a look in the second half. The former Ohio State signal-caller made a few cameos in the opening 30 minutes, but Russell Wilson continued to get the majority of snaps.
The broadcaster also added that Pittsburgh’s defense needed to step up after a dismal half.
Pittsburgh did show more fight in the second half — and Herbstreit was complimentary of that — but it proved to be too little, too late as Baltimore won 28-14.
There will be plenty of questions for the Steelers heading into the offseason. Those might start with Mike Tomlin, as the head coach hasn’t led his team to a playoff win since January 2017, dropping six straight postseason games.
Pittsburgh was shut out in the first half for the first time in a playoff game under Tomlin.
On the bright side for Herbstreit, his NFL season in the broadcast booth has come to an end. Next up for him is the college football national championship before heading into the offseason.
So, maybe things aren’t all that bad.