There is a game the Pittsburgh Steelers must play tomorrow. At least as of yesterday, even starting members of the secondary weren’t quite sure who would be on the back end. Asked if he knew who would be playing safety for them on Saturday against the Cincinnati Bengals, CB Joey Porter Jr. said, via the team’s website, “No, not really”.
That’s not a total shock when you consider the fact that they managed to lose three safeties in a single game. All-Pro Minkah Fitzpatrick suffered a knee injury against the Colts and won’t play against the Bengals. One play earlier Damontae Kazee was ejected for a hit on the next that triggered a three-game suspension. On top of that, Trenton Thompson went down with a back injury that will also keep him out of the lineup for at least this week.
So who’s left? Well, Miles Killebrew is the last safety standing on the 53-man roster, with Keanu Neal still on the Reserve/Injured List. There has been active talk of CB Patrick Peterson playing safety, and he’ll surely be involved in some way whether he starts there or not.
In the meantime, veteran Eric Rowe has been getting a lot of work on the practice squad. He should either be signed to the 53-man roster or elevated to play in the game. Elijah Riley is another defensive back who could return to the fold, practicing this week for the first time after weeks on the Reserve/Injured List.
Outside of that, well, there really isn’t anybody. Rookie Darius Rush could possibly move around a little bit. But he’s a healthy scratch as often as he’s not. Suffice it to say that they are working with scraps this week. And Porter knows Kazee’s presence will be missed.
“He always brings the juice no matter what circumstances in the game”, the rookie said. “He’s gonna get you, he’s gonna have your back. We all just gotta have that juice. Kazee’s always bringing that energy, but with him gone, we all gotta bring that up in the room, and I feel like we’re doing a great job at that and we all bring that morale up”.
The biggest challenge may well be communication. That is where Peterson could help most, because he’s been a starter all year, even if he is new to the safety position. A lack of proper communication has been at the heart of many of the Steelers’ biggest failings this season.
Having new faces playing in unfamiliar roles isn’t going to help matters. It probably doesn’t help that even the secondary doesn’t seem to be sure who will be playing where 48 hours before the next game. But extenuating circumstances force unconventional solutions.
There’s no doubt that the Steelers and their defensive backfield are in a tough spot right now. Even facing a Bengals team without Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase will be a significant challenge. I’m sure almost everybody is counting them out. We’ll just have to wait and see how they manage to respond to the challenge in front of them.
