The Pittsburgh Steelers played bad on both sides of the football against the Houston Texans, losing in humiliating fashion 30-6. Everyone will point to the offense and its inability to move the ball and score a single touchdown in the game. But the defense isn’t without its warts either as it allowed QB C.J. Stroud to throw for 306 yards and two touchdowns.
CB Patrick Peterson was on the wrong end of one of those touchdown passes by Stroud while attempting to help this secondary find some stability after WR Davante Adams had his way with the Steelers a week earlier. Going back through the tape, there were several notable plays Peterson that were positive, but his age as well as defensive system as a whole created several issues that led to multiple Texans’ explosive plays through the air.
The Film
On tape, you can see Peterson’s instincts and veteran savvy pop up in several plays that he made on Sunday. Watch on this rep as Peterson lines up on the top of your screen, covering the deep third in a Cover 3 zone. He quickly reads the underneath pass to WR Robert Woods on the out route and triggers downhill, wrapping Woods up as he catches the ball on the spot to prevent any additional yardage gained.
Peterson may not have the same speed and athleticism he once had, but his instincts and ability to process and react to what is happening in front of him allow him to still make plays as one of the oldest corners in the league. You see that on this rep where Peterson is lined up opposite of WR Nico Collins at the top of your screen, right at the first down marker. On the snap, Peterson makes his read and breaks once Collins declares his route on the quick slant, clicking and closing to impact the pass. He arrives a tad early, which could have drawn a flag, but the pass falls incomplete.
We also see Peterson quickly trigger downhill on this screen pass to Collins in the slot, but TE Dalton Schultz quickly covers him up as the ball is thrown, escorting Peterson on a block away from Collins, who turns upfield and picks up the first down.
There were instances in Sunday’s game where the scheme didn’t benefit Peterson and his duties in pass coverage. As you can see here on this play, Peterson is lined up nearly 10 yards off WR Tank Dell, whom he is across from in coverage. Houston is in I-formation, looking to run the ball, but instead Stroud throws a quick pass to Dell right at the line of scrimmage for a catch-and-run opportunity. Peterson chases down Dell but not before the receiver picks up 15 yards on the play, netting a first down. Peterson could have lined up closer to prevent Dell from having too much space to work, but given the defense the Steelers came out in, it appears to be more of a schematic issue than on Peterson specifically.
As a run defender, Peterson was a mixed bag in terms of his performance. There were plays where he excelled sticking his face in the fan, like on the first rep of this clip, coming downhill and stuffing RB Dameon Pierce along the sideline with LB Elandon Roberts. However, on the very next play, we see Pierce truck Peterson as he attempts to make a tackle, putting his head down and crouching as Pierce runs into him like a freight train, running right through him as he bowling balls for a few extra yards.
While Peterson does have good instincts and can anticipate plays well, he did get caught on the wrong end of this touchdown pass to Shultz. Houston runs a toss right to RB Devin Singletary, getting the whole defense to commit to the run. Peterson starts tracking Singletary toward the sideline, looking to cut him off from getting the corner. However, Peterson doesn’t see Schultz running past him toward the end zone until Singletary looks to throw the football. He attempts to redirect to Schultz, but the tight end is standing wide open in the end zone for the touchdown, taking a big shot from S Minkah Fitzpatrick after he catches the ball.
As mentioned earlier, Peterson doesn’t have the same level of juice and athleticism he once had. That comes with aging, the eight-time Pro Bowler now being 33 years old and in his 13th NFL season. Still, Peterson’s age showed on this final play, and the play that essentially put the nail in the coffin regarding Pittsburgh’s comeback hopes. Peterson lines up across from Collins in man coverage and allows Collins to get a free inside release off the line of scrimmage. Peterson is immediately trying to get on his horse to keep up with Collins, who runs a corner route back towards the sideline, hauling in the pass over the shoulder. Peterson reaches out to try and drag Collins down but fails to do so as he falls to the ground, and Collins finishes in the end zone for the score.
Conclusion
Watching the game in real time, I initially thought Peterson played much worse than he actually did. He made several plays in coverage as well as showed willingness in run support, coming in to help stop Houston’s running game that set the tone with a lead for the entire game. Still, Peterson had his slip ups, being on the wrong end of two touchdown passes. The running back pass to Schultz may not be counted against him, but the long touchdown pass to Collins was a blown coverage where he didn’t get his hands on the receiver at the line and couldn’t keep up with Collins down the field.
Peterson hasn’t been awful the first four games of the 2023 season, but fans were hoping for more when the Steelers signed the three-time first-team All-Pro. Obviously, Peterson is passed his prime in terms of his athletic ceiling, but he still has played well as recently in Minnesota where he had five interceptions and 15 pass deflections a year ago. It’s not that he has been bad per se, but he hasn’t been as impactful as Pittsburgh needs him to be after letting CB Cameron Sutton walk in free agency to the Detroit Lions this offseason.
Looking back on it, Pittsburgh likely should have paid up a little more to retain Sutton rather than save a couple million to sign Peterson, who is past his prime. We will see how the rest of the season goes for Peterson and the secondary as a whole. But with Peterson not getting any younger and signed through 2024, Pittsburgh may need to seriously consider looking into other long-term options to pair with rookie CB Joey Porter Jr. this offseason.
