The Pittsburgh Steelers dropped a crucial Week 15 game against the Indianapolis Colts to move to 7-7. They took an early 13-0 lead, but it was all downhill from there as the Steelers lost 30-13.
One big component of the loss was attrition on defense. The Steelers already had issues with their inside linebackers coming into the week with Kwon Alexander and Cole Holcomb out for the season with injuries sustained in Weeks Nine and 10, respectively. The safety position joined the list of major issues midway through the game.
Mike Tomlin, during his weekly press conference Monday, discussed the attrition component of the loss to the Colts on Saturday.
“We’ve talked a lot about down the middle of our defense,” said Tomlin in via video posted on the team’s YouTube page. “Whether it’s interior linebackers or safeties and the in-game attrition component of that made it difficult at times to operate. I thought that was reflective kind of in the two-minute sequence where they were able to drive the field and get a touchdown before the half before we could reconfigure the people at our disposal.”
On back-to-back plays against the Colts, Damontae Kazee was ejected and Minkah Fitzpatrick was injured, unable to return to the game. Later in the game, S Trenton Thompson suffered a stinger, which kept him out of play briefly though he was able to return. The inside linebackers and safeties are critical to defending the middle of the field and helping in run support, so naturally the Steelers suffered in those areas down the stretch of the game.
“The schematic component of it needs to be improved,” Tomlin said. “At times, components of our ball looks like September ball where some of the guys that are playing have September levels of playing experience. And so, we can’t make December calls with September people with playing experience. So I think it’s important as we formulate a plan this week that we’re really thoughtful about the configuration of people that we have at our disposal and making sure that they’re capable of delivering what we’re asking them to do.”
The Steelers were forced to play special teamer Miles Killebrew at safety for 11 snaps. Patrick Peterson also played 38 snaps at safety with a majority of those being at free safety. This has a ripple effect on the defense as Peterson is usually moved around throughout the game from corner, to slot, to safety. Locking him in at safety stresses the rest of the secondary to play more, like Chandon Sullivan, who logged 31 defensive snaps.
When you compound the secondary issues with the existing inside linebacker issues, the communication of the defense is greatly affected, and the Steelers didn’t adjust accordingly with their schematics. Moving into this week, with Fitzpatrick ruled out and Kazee suspended for the season, adjusting the defense to fit the inexperience at certain positions will be top of mind for the coaching staff.
