After lamenting the lack of physicality from a preparation standpoint in the blowout loss to the Houston Texans in Week Four, the Pittsburgh Steelers turned to padded practices to try and get going again.
Though it seems silly to think that one padded practice in the middle of the week somehow jump-started the Steelers and got them back on track, it did just that in at least one area of the game: tackling .
The Steelers missed a season-high 14 tackles in their 30-6 loss to the Texans. On Sunday, they bounced back against the Baltimore Ravens and more than cut that number in half, recording six missed tackles in the 17-10 win, playing quite well in the second half defensively, leading to the come-from-behind win.
Let’s check out the Week Five missed tackles report against the Ravens.
TOTAL MISSED TACKLES VS. RAVENS — 6
Patrick Peterson – 2
Kwon Alexander – 1
Levi Wallace – 1
Minkah Fitzpatrick – 1
Cole Holcomb – 1
TOTAL MISSED TACKLES THROUGH WEEK 5 (5 GAMES) — 45 (9.0 MISSES PER GAME)
Patrick Peterson – 6 (15 tackles on 21 total attempts, 28.5% miss rate)
Elandon Roberts – 5 (31 tackles on 26 total attempts, 13.9% miss rate)
Keanu Neal – 5 (24 tackles on 29 total attempts, 17.2% miss rate)
Minkah Fitzpatrick – 5 (41 tackles on 46 total attempts, 10.8% miss rate)
Cole Holcomb – 4 (34 tackles on 38 total attempts, 10.5% miss rate)
Kwon Alexander – 4 (34 tackles on 38 total attempts, 10.5% miss rate)
Montravius Adams – 3 (one on sack attempt) (13 tackles on 16 total attempts, 18.7% miss rate)
Levi Wallace – 3 (21 tackles on 24 total attempts, 12.5% miss rate)
Elijah Riley – 2 (one on sack attempt) (three tackles on five total attempts, 40% miss rate)
Damontae Kazee – 2 (18 tackles on 20 total attempts, 10% miss rate)
Joey Porter Jr. – 2 (six tackles on eight total attempts, 25% miss rate)
T.J. Watt – 1 (15 tackles on 16 total attempts, 6.25% miss rate)
Mark Robinson — 1 (special teams) (four tackles on five total attempts, 20% miss rate)
Markus Golden — 1 (seven tackles on eight total attempts, 12.5% miss rate)
Miles Killebrew — 1 (special teams) (six tackles on seven total attempts, 14.3% miss rate)
For the second straight week, veteran Steelers cornerback Patrick Peterson missed multiple tackles while continuing to struggle in coverage. That ultimately led to the Steelers making a change in their base defense, putting rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. on the field in the fourth quarter. That paid off in a big way thanks to Porter’s interception of Lamar Jackson in the end zone.
With Peterson, while there were concerns about his age and overall ability to stick in coverage, the tackling was never really a concern, at least initially.
Five weeks into the season though he’s just not answering the bell in the tackling department. He’s too hesitant on the edge and doesn’t play with much physicality. That’s leading to the misses.
Here on the swing pass from Jackson to Baltimore running back Justice Hill out of the backfield in the first half, it should have been a routine tackle for Peterson in space for a short gain. Instead, the veteran cornerback hesitates and gets caught flat-footed by Hill, lunging to try and make the stop but whiffing.
It got worse after Peterson’s miss as linebacker Kwon Alexander came in out of control and whiffed in space in a big way, too, allowing Hill to dance around the two defensive veterans, picking up yardage to move the chains for the first down.
Hill gave fits to other members of the secondary, too.
Levi Wallace recorded his third missed tackle of the season on another short check down to Hill.
Wallace does a nice job of breaking down to gear up for the tackle, but he ends up staying a bit too high with his pad level. He loses his footing on his final steps, allowing Hill to duck underneath his attempted tackle, sliding around Wallace to pick up a few more yards.
Later in the game, linebacker Cole Holcomb recorded his missed tackle, getting put on a highlight reel by Baltimore rookie receiver Zay Flowers.
After a nice catch down the sideline on the Steelers’ side of the field, Flowers stopped on a dime. Holcomb came in trying for the big hit, but Flowers ducked underneath it and was able to throw Holcomb by for the missed tackle.
Fortunately for Holcomb, veteran safety Minkah Fitzpatrick was there to clean things up, ending Flowers’ dance with the football.
Outside of the missed tackles on Sunday, none of which ended up in the end zone, the Steelers had a nice day offensively in the missed tackles department, particularly running back Jaylen Warren. The Steelers had seven forced missed tackles in the win over the Ravens, winning the tackle battle by a mark of plus-one, moving the Steelers’ record in the game within the game to 3-1-1.
TOTAL FORCED MISSED TACKLES VS. RAVENS — 7
Jaylen Warren – 5
Najee Harris – 2
TOTAL FORCED MISSED TACKLES THROUGH WEEK 5 (5 GAMES) — 51 (10.2 PER GAME)
Jaylen Warren – 20
Najee Harris – 19
Calvin Austin III – 6 (two on special teams)
Pat Freiermuth – 2
George Pickens – 2
Allen Robinson II – 1
Diontae Johnson – 1
Kenny Pickett — 1
Desmond King II – 1 (special teams)
In the fourth quarter, the Steelers’ offense largely ran through Jaylen Warren.
The diminutive backup to Najee Harris ran with authority when given an expanded opportunity. He really gave the Steelers a spark.
Warren gave the Steelers a jolt on a 3rd and 8 from the Steelers’ 46-yard line with 9:42 left in the fourth quarter. Warren caught a short pass from Kenny Pickett out of the backfield and took advantage of a Baltimore defender slipping initially, allowing him to race past the first down marker. After that, Warren did his best work.
He was able to shed two tacklers, somehow remain on his feet with great contact balance and pick up 23 yards on the play, sparking the Steelers. His effort at the end of the play exemplified the effort and no-quit attitude that he and Harris have with the football in their hands. They’ll fight for every blade of grass.
After that catch-and-run the Steelers fed the hot hand. Warren rewarded them.
He hurdled a defender off tackle on a jet sweep, picking up 10 yards. Look at the ease in which he leaps off the ground, easily clearing the defender. He then spins off of another defender right as he’s landing. What a run.
When he’s on his game he’s quite remarkable to watch. Tremendous athlete, elite explosiveness and a knack for making big plays.
After his 10-yard run, Warren ripped off a 16-yard run, eventually setting up the Steelers’ field goal from Chris Boswell to make it a 10-8 game. Eventually the Steelers went on to win the game, and Warren was a big part of helping them do just that.
