It is undoubtedly a bit frustrating for members of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense the last few seasons, playing some good football and not getting much help from the offense.
Though that frustration has to be there based on the way the offense has struggled to play complementary football consistently in recent years, that frustration isn’t showing. Instead, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin has the Steelers’ defense focus on where it should be: stopping the opposing offense.
Speaking with reporters Wednesday ahead of the Week 15 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts, Austin stated that the Steelers’ defense is only focused on what it can control. That is stopping opposing offenses and not allowing them to score points.
“That’s our job. Our job is to stop the other team from scoring, and it doesn’t matter what happens on the other side of the ball. Our job is to stop them,” Austin said to reporters Wednesday, according to video via 93.7 The Fan. “That’s a variable we can’t control. The only variable we control is, is how well we stop the other team. And if we don’t do a good job of it, then that’s our fault.
“If we lose by a point, no matter what the score is, it’s our fault, ’cause we allowed their offense to score one more than us.”
Sounds simple, and in some aspects it might be. The defense can’t worry about what’s happening on the other side of the football within the team because that’s out of its control. But there has to be some frustration there, especially when the defense has largely done its job throughout the season, creating short fields, taking the football away, and even in some aspects scoring points themselves.
Yet, the Steelers sit at 7-6 on the season and have scored just 20 or more points only five times all season. The Steelers have to play a specific style of football, which puts a lot of stress on their defense.
Granted, they are one of the highest-paid defenses in the NFL, so that pressure should be there, but expecting or anticipating near-perfection every time out from a unit decimated by injuries seems insane. More often than not, the Steelers’ defense has stopped the opponent consistently, keeping the game close and giving the offense a chance to make winning plays late.
But now, with injuries mounting and opposing offenses getting better and tougher down the stretch, the Steelers’ defense needs some complementary football from the offense, whether players and coaches on the defensive side of the football want to acknowledge that or not.
