The Pittsburgh Steelers came into Wild Card Weekend on a four-game losing streak, looking to change their fortunes. However, a subpar performance led to a fifth consecutive loss and the end of Pittsburgh’s 2024 NFL season in quick fashion. By halftime, down 21-0, the game was virtually out of sight.
Neither a struggling offense nor the vaunted Mike Tomlin defense had any answers for the Baltimore Ravens, leading to a 14-point victory for the hometown favorites. Understandably, there were some sour faces in the Steelers’ camp, but none as loud as Cordarrelle Patterson.
Cordarrelle Patterson Hints at Anger for Wild Card Weekend
Patterson is one of the most decorated names in NFL history over the last decade. The kick-return specialist has been a true jack of all trades in each of his pitstops in the league. Yet, with a decade’s worth of experience, he’s beginning to slow down.
Patterson’s last All-Pro appearance came in 2020 when he was named to his fourth first-team All-Pro, in addition to three selections to the second-team. Similarly, he has yet to make a Pro Bowl since that season when he led the league in kick-return yards.
However, Patterson’s usage during the Wild Card round left him severely dissatisfied. Against Baltimore, he had zero opportunities to carry the ball, didn’t receive any targets, and had no chances to return the ball, either.
While no news came out immediately, Patterson’s story this morning on Instagram made his feelings on the matter perfectly clear.
On a snow-covered pathway, with a shovel in hand, Patterson wrote the caption, “Guess I’ll shovel snow since I can’t touch the field n s***.”
The shot at his playing time was crystal clear. This season, Patterson recorded career lows in carries (32) and had just 11 kickoff returns on the year. For a Steelers team that was only able to manage 29 rushing yards all night, a different look may have ignited them.
By comparison, the Ravens had 299 rushing yards, thanks to the one-two punch of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry. The 12th-ranked defense, according to Pro Football Network’s Defense+ metric, quivered and couldn’t contain PFN’s second-best offense in the NFL.
