It’s no secret that TE Pat Freiermuth has struggled to find time in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ lineup. Even in Arthur Smith’s tight end-heavy world, Freiermuth has drawn the short straw. That proof exists in plenty of places, but perhaps no moment is so obvious as the end of Sunday’s loss to the Buffalo Bills.
After a Bills’ field goal to make it 26-7, the Steelers’ offense took the field for three final snaps. Meaningless and uneventful. Two runs by rookie RB Kaleb Johnson, one incompletion by QB Mason Rudolph. Everyone simply ran out the clock.
Pittsburgh knew it, too.