After performing quite well down the stretch in the season from a tackling perspective, the Pittsburgh Steelers fell apart on a big stage in that department on the road in the AFC Wild Card Round matchup against the Buffalo Bills, playing a key role in the 2023 season coming to an end in disappointing fashion.
In the final three games of the regular season, the Steelers missed just 15 total tackles, turning in a strong performance each week. That all came crashing down on Monday as the Steelers missed 10 tackles, four of which led directly to touchdowns for the Bills, ultimately putting an end to their season.
For the final time this season, it’s time for the missed tackles report.
TOTAL MISSED TACKLES AT BILLS — 10
Patrick Peterson – 2 (one on sack attempt)
Damontae Kazee – 1
Alex Highsmith – 1
Minkah Fitzpatrick – 1
Chandon Sullivan – 1
Isaiahh Loudermilk – 1
Larry Ogunjobi – 1
Cameron Heyward – 1
Mykal Walker – 1
TOTAL MISSED TACKLES IN 2023 SEASON (18 GAMES) — 143 (7.94 MISSES PER GAME)
Damontae Kazee – 13 (63 tackles on 76 attempts, 17.1% miss rate)
Patrick Peterson – 13 (one on sack attempt, 46 tackles on 59 attempts, 22% miss rate)
Elandon Roberts – 12 (one on sack attempt, 106 tackles on 118 attempts, 10.2% miss rate)
Minkah Fitzpatrick – 8 (74 tackles on 82 attempts, 9.8% miss rate)
Keanu Neal – 8 (50 tackles on 58 attempts, 13.8% miss rate)
Kwon Alexander – 7 (41 tackles on 48 attempts, 14.6% miss rate)
Joey Porter Jr. – 6 (45 tackles on 51 attempts, 11.7% miss rate)
Larry Ogunjobi – 5 (48 tackles on 53 attempts, 9.4% miss rate)
Mykal Walker — 5 (36 tackles on 41 attempts, 12.2% miss rate)
Elijah Riley – 5 (two on sack attempts, one on special teams, 12 tackles on 17 attempts, 29.4% miss rate)
T.J. Watt – 5 (68 tackles on 73 attempts, 6.9% miss rate)
Levi Wallace – 4 (39 tackles on 43 attempts, 9.3% miss rate)
Cole Holcomb – 4 (54 tackles on 58 attempts, 6.9% miss rate)
Nick Herbig – 4 (one on special teams, 28 tackles on 32 attempts, 12.5% miss rate)
Cameron Heyward — 3 (39 tackles on 42 attempts, 7.1% miss rate)
Alex Highsmith — 3 (60 tackles on 63 attempts, 5% miss rate)
Miles Killebrew — 3 (two special teams, 26 tackles on 29 attempts, 10.3% miss rate)
Mark Robinson — 3 (both on special teams, 35 tackles on 38 attempts, 7.9% miss rate)
Chandon Sullivan — 3 (sack attempt, 22 tackles on 25 attempts, 12% miss rate)
Eric Rowe – 3 (37 tackles on 40 attempts, 7.5% miss rate)
Trenton Thompson – 3 (22 tackles on 25 total attempts, 12% miss rate)
Montravius Adams – 3 (one on sack attempt, 25 tackles on 28 attempts, 10.7% miss rate)
Isaiahh Loudermilk — 2 (16 tackles on 18 attempts, 11.1% miss rate)
Myles Jack — 2 (21 tackles on 23 attempts, 8.7% miss rate)
Keeanu Benton — 2 (41 tackles on 43 attempts, 4.6% miss rate)
Miles Boykin — 2 (special teams, five tackles on seven attempts, 28.6% miss rate)
Markus Golden — 2 (23 tackles on 25 attempts, 8% miss rate)
Armon Watts – 1 (16 tackles on 17 attempts, 5.9% miss rate)
Connor Heyward – 1 (special teams, two tackles on three attempts, 33.3% miss rate)
DeMarvin Leal — 1 (15 tackles on 16 attempts, 6.25% miss rate)
An ugly day overall for the secondary, which came after the Steelers got healthy at the position for the playoff game. The return of Minkah Fitzpatrick and Damontae Kazee at the safety position was supposed to provide the Steelers with a big boost, and while Fitzpatrick was quite good throughout the game, he and Kazee each missed a tackle in a big spot, leading directly to Buffalo touchdowns.
Kazee’s was arguably the more egregious.
Getting the Bills into a 3rd and 7 from their own 48-yard line, it looked like a great opportunity for the Steelers — already down 14-0 — to get a stop and get off the field. Buf Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen broke out of the pocket and worked his magic as a runner, easily picking up the first down.
Then he took a broken play all the way to the end zone in rather embarrassing fashion for the Steelers. Kazee was the fill defender on the play and closed down on Allen in space. He’s right there for the tackle. Kazee does a good job of breaking down and staying square to Allen, but then he goes in for a high tackle attempt on the big, strong quarterback, which causes him to bounce off Allen, like a bug hitting a windshield.
No chance of tackling Allen like that. In the end, it resulted in a 52-yard touchdown run and a 21-0 lead for Buffalo that the Steelers could never recover from.
Earlier in the game, veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson experienced just how hard it is to take down Allen in the open field.
The Steelers time this corner blitz perfectly for Peterson, who shoots home untouched for a clean shot at Allen.
The problem is, Peterson is not a physical player. That’s not a matchup you want in the open field, especially in the pocket against Allen. Still, Peterson has to make this play, period.
In the end, the Steelers got off the field on the next play as Allen fired an incomplete pass on 3rd and 2 after the scramble, but it wouldn’t have been as stressful of a third down had Peterson made the play for the sack.
It got worse for Peterson in the open field later in the first half of the game, too.
He’s already playing off coverage at the snap, so of course it’s an easy completion from Allen to little-used wide receiver Deonte Hardy for a nice gain. But the key in situations like this is to tackle the catch.
Peterson doesn’t do that.
He’s a bit too passive after the catch and looks like he has concrete in his cleats. Hardy goes right around him, and then it creates a mess for the rest of the defense. That leads to a Chandon Sullivan miss in space before Markus Golden and Eric Rowe are able to get Hardy on the ground after a 34-yard gain.
Fortunately, the Steelers blocked a field goal at the end of that Buffalo drive, but the missed tackles were ugly.
On Buffalo’s final touchdown of the day, it was one of the worst missed tackles plays of the entire season for the Steelers.
This is a great job initially by Fitzpatrick flying downhill in his robber role, getting to Buffalo’s Khalil Shakir in the open field for what should only be a short gain.
Typically, Fitzpatrick makes this play. But he goes high here and tries to throw Shakir to the turf. It’s a great display of contact balance and strength from Shakir to not go down. After Fitzpatrick misses, it is truly a disaster for the Steelers.
Cameron Hayward does a fantastic job of chasing the ball, but he misses in space. So, too, does linebacker Mykal Walker, who gets completely shaken out of his shoes, resulting in the ugly miss. That’s enough to allow Shakir to find the end zone for the back-breaking touchdown.
Outside of the ugly day defensive, the Steelers had a decent day in the forced missed tackles department. Pittsburgh forced 11 missed tackles against the Bills, meaning they won the tackle battle by a mark of plus-one. Unfortunately, it didn’t do anything to help the Steelers on the scoreboard where it counts.
TOTAL FORCED MISSED TACKLES AT BILLS — 11
Jaylen Warren – 5
Najee Harris – 2
Pat Freiermuth – 2
George Pickens – 1
Mason Rudolph – 1
TOTAL FORCED MISSED TACKLES IN 2023 SEASON (18 GAMES) — 198 (11.0 PER GAME)
Jaylen Warren – 74
Najee Harris – 64
Calvin Austin III – 12 (six on special teams)
Diontae Johnson – 11
George Pickens – 11
Pat Freiermuth – 7
Godwin Igwebuike – 5 (special teams)
Connor Heyward – 3
Kenny Pickett — 2
Allen Robinson II – 1
Desmond King II – 1 (special teams)
Darnell Washington — 1
Mitch Trubisky — 1
Mason Rudolph — 1
On the year, the Steelers were really effective at forcing missed tackles. That was again the case in the loss to the Bills. Steelers’ skill guys made things happen with the ball in their hands.
That includes tight end Pat Freiermuth, who had a highlight-reel effort on a key third down in the second quarter.
With quarterback Mason Rudolph in scramble mode as the protection broke down, Freiermuth leaked out into the left flat. Rudolph saw him and delivered the ball quickly, giving Freiermuth a chance to make a play.
He did just that.
Freiermuth knew where the sticks were and wasn’t going to let cornerback Kaiir Elam stop him. Freiermuth ran right over the Bills’ young cornerback, bouncing him off the turf and moving the chains in the process. That play gave the Steelers a bit of a spark. But a few plays later the Steelers turned it over in the end zone as, ironically, Elam stepped in front of a Rudolph pass for the interception and the touchback, keeping the Steelers off the board.
