If you thought that the Pittsburgh Steelers were going to have a field day against a makeshift Houston Texans’ offensive line, you wouldn’t be the only one. We at Steelers Depot as well as numerous analysts across the league thought that the Steelers’ pass-rush duo of T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith was going to have a big performance against an offensive line that was without numerous starters, playing with guys like Austin Deculus, who had never started a regular-season game, as well as LG Kendrick Green and RT George Fant.
However, the Texans ran all over Pittsburgh, rushing for 139 yards on the day while keeping QB C.J. Stroud clean in the pocket, allowing him to throw for 306 yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions while not taking a sack. It was a performance that surprised many, including Teryl Austin. The Steelers’ defensive coordinator took ownership for his unit’s poor performance last Sunday, vowing to do better himself this coming week.
“Yeah, I was surprised that we didn’t play well, and that really, ultimately comes back on me as a coordinator, that I have to get my guys ready to play,” Austin said to the media, according to an official transcript provided by the Steelers. “When they don’t play the way they’re capable of playing, first thing I do is I look at what I’m doing, what I’m working on, what we’re doing during the course of the week and how do we fix it and make it better for this week.”
We’ve seen the players come to the defense of the coaches since the Houston loss, stating that they need to execute better and that the coaching and schemes are okay just the way they are. However, Austin owned up to the defense’s bad day at the office against the Texans, saying that he needs to look at what he’s doing throughout the week to have his guys more prepared to play and execute on the field.
This is a good showing of leadership from Austin as true leaders take ownership of the bad situations their teams face. His unit has performed under expectations thus far this season, ranking 26th in the league against the pass and 29th against the run. Even with DL Cameron Heyward out since Week One with a groin injury, this unit should be doing much better given the talent and personnel the Steelers have at all levels on their defense. Instead, they have been gashed on the ground as well as through the air.
Positions of leadership come with great responsibility as you will often get a lot of the praise but also shoulder a lot of the blame. Austin is experiencing the latter right, and he and the rest of the coaches must do a better job not being outcoached by their opposition on a weekly basis, having this team prepared to play and play well. He faces a tough test on Sunday against a Ravens squad that just pummeled the Cleveland Browns last week, but Pittsburgh must get this ship turned around and do it fast to remain a player in the chase for the AFC North.
