Pittsburgh Steelers' fans are frustrated.
They booed the home team off the field on Sunday following a 26-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills at Acrisure Stadium. The fans also chanted for the firing of coach Mike Tomlin. The last Steelers coach to hear that chant was Bill Austin in 1968.
The Steelers are 6-6 and tied with the Ravens for first place in the AFC North, and the teams meet in a showdown on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. However, the Steelers have lost five of their last seven games, and Sunday's game doesn't feel as significant as it should.
No one likes to get booed, especially someone like Tomlin, who, in his 19th season, is the longest-tenured head coach or manager in any of the four major North American professional sports leagues. However, Tomlin certainly understands the fans' mindset.
"In general, I agree with them, from this perspective: Football is our game, we're in a sport entertainment business," Tomlin said Tuesday during his weekly press conference. "And, so, if you root for the Steelers, entertaining them is winning. And, so, when you're not winning, it's not entertaining.
"If you've been in this business, you understand that, and so I respect it. I share frustrations, I understand what makes this thing go, and winning is what makes this thing go."
Figuring out how to get the Steelers back on a winning track might prove a lot more difficult for Tomlin than dealing with the boos. In some ways, the Steelers are lucky even to have a .500 record, considering they are 27th in the NFL in total offense and 28th in total defense.
"Certainly, we're looking at strategic, global things from a strategy or schematic standpoint," Tomlin said. "But we're also looking at the division of labor and the positions that we put players in, how we adjust and adapt and communicate, particularly when that gets strained due to player availability or lack thereof. And so, some of those things, and all of those things, are a component of the decision-making process."
The loss to the Bills was demoralizing. The Steelers led 7-3 at halftime, but the Bills scored on the first play of the third quarter when Christian Benford returned a fumble 18 yards for a touchdown after Joey Bosa's strip sack of Aaron Rodgers. The Bills overpowered the Steelers by rushing for 249 yards.
Nevertheless, Tomlin insists his team's confidence is intact going into the final five games of the season.
"Certainly, our last performance wasn't up to snuff," Tomlin said. "But I don't know that it lessens our belief in self, or our ability to deliver individually and collectively moving forward."