While we don’t have the exact numbers, the eye test made one thing abundantly clear last night. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense was a whole lot better in man coverage than in zone. Against spot-dropping zone, Tennessee Titans QB Will Levis picked apart the Steelers’ secondary, finding open receivers to all levels of the field. It was an issue fans didn’t just recognize. Players did, too. And appearing on the GoJo and Golic Show Friday morning, CB Levi Wallace said players and coaches decided to make a change.
“Our intention was to pressure him early. Show him a bunch of different disguises,” Wallace told the show. “And he still played pretty well. He found some soft spots in our zones a couple times. So we just came to the sideline and said, we’re going to stop running all these zones. Let’s go man-to-man and get pressure on this guy…second half, that’s what really changed for us.”
The Titans’ offense and passing game looked far more fluid in the first half than in the second half. Tennessee took a 13-10 lead heading into the break with WR DeAndre Hopkins making plays downfield and the Titans converting a couple of third-and-longs.
At the half, Levis had completed over 70% of his passes for 153 yards. The second half was a different story. In the third and fourth quarters, he completed only 45% of his throws and tossed the game-ending interception, picked on the goal line by LB Kwon Alexander.
In key moments late, the Steelers used man coverage to get off the field. On 3rd and 8 in the fourth quarter, the Steelers ran Cover 1 and got pressure on Levis, forcing an incomplete dump off to the running back. That summed up the second half change. More man, less zone.
Pittsburgh again called man coverage on third down of the Titans next drive, leading to a key forced incompletion by Wallace down the left sideline against WR Treylon Burks. Burks hit his head and was carted off with a scary-looking injury, but his prognosis is good and he’s returning to the team facility. Wallace had lost playing time with Joey Porter Jr. taking over as full-time starter but forced two fourth-quarter incompletions that played a key role in the Steelers hanging on.
Pittsburgh’s secondary still has big-time issues. They lack speed and communication was an issue without Minkah Fitzpatrick, who provides so much for the back end (tackling, communication, playmaking, versatility). They’re going to need an infusion of talent this offseason. But like everything else about this team, they Steelers are finding ways to win despite it all. And they adjusted well enough to hold off the Titans in the second half.
