The preseason finale against the Detroit Lions saw a lot of fringe roster pieces for the Pittsburgh Steelers get quite a bit of playing time. In that playing time came valuable reps for players to show the team what they could (or could not) do in a last-ditch effort to make a case for either a 53-man roster spot or a practice squad role.
Unfortunately for a number of players on the defensive side of the football, it was a negative showing, particularly in the tackling department.
Against the Lions on Saturday at Ford Field, the Steelers missed 16 tackles, nearly matching their entire preseason total entering the game. Those 16 missed tackles would have been the second-highest mark of the 2023 season, too.
Ugly performance overall from a tackling perspective. Let’s take a look.
Total Missed Tackles at Lions — 16
Jacoby Windmon – 3
Mark Robinson – 2
Kiondre Thomas -2
Ryan Watts – 1
DeMarvin Leal – 1
Marcus Haynes – 1
Zyon Gilbert – 1
Jalen Elliott – 1
Donte Jackson – 1
Isaiahh Loudermilk – 1 (sack attempt)
Damontae Kazee – 1
Elandon Roberts – 1
Total Missed Tackles Through Three Preseason Games — 35 (11.66 Per Game)
Isaiahh Loudermilk – 4 (2 on sack attempts) (5 tackles on 8 total attempts, 50% miss rate)
Jacoby Windmon — 4 (12 tackles on 16 total attempts, 25% miss rate)
Mark Robinson – 4 (18 tackles on 22 total attempts, 18.2% miss rate)
Damontae Kazee – 3 (3 tackles on 6 total attempts, 50% miss rate)
Jalen Elliott – 3 (14 tackles on 17 total attempts, 17.6% miss rate)
Kiondre Thomas — 2 (5 tackles on 7 total attempts, 28.6% miss rate)
Payton Wilson – 2 (9 tackles on 11 total attempts, 18.1% miss rate)
Anthony Averett – 2 (3 tackles on 5 total attempts, 40% miss rate)
Ryan Watts — 2 (13 tackles on 15 total attempts, 13.3% miss rate)
Rodney Williams — 1 (special teams) (0 tackles on 1 total attempt, 100% miss rate)
Larry Ogunjobi — 1 (sack attempt) (2 tackles on 3 total attempts, 33.3% miss rate)
Cameron Sutton — 1 (1 tackle on 2 total attempts, 50% miss rate)
Kyler McMichael — 1 (4 tackles on five total attempts, 20% miss rate)
DeMarvin Leal — 1 (6 tackles on 7 total attempts, 14.3% miss rate)
Marcus Haynes — 1 (3 tackles on 4 total attempts, 25% miss rate)
Zyon Gilbert — 1 (8 tackles on 9 total attempts, 11% miss rate)
Donte Jackson — 1 (0 tackles on 1 total attempt, 100% miss rate)
Elandon Roberts — 1 (5 tackles on 6 total attempts, 16.6% miss rate)
Like I said, it was an ugly one from the Steelers. The 16 missed tackles is nothing to casually gloss over or wave away as just due to the preseason. It’s a concern on a larger level as the Steelers had a well-documented intense and physical training camp.
But then, once the games started in the preseason the Steelers had a tough time tackling. It was experienced guys, too.
Defensive lineman Isaiahh Loudermilk certainly had a strong game against the Lions in the preseason finale, but he missed yet another sack in the backfield. He has done a nice job throughout the preseason of winning at the line of scrimmage with his hand usage, putting him in position to make plays.
The finishing has lacked significantly.
Why he’s jumping in the air here with a clear path to the quarterback is rather puzzling, and it cost him.
Loudermilk does a great job here initially, winning with his hand usage to get clear of the center and get a free lane to the quarterback. All he has to do is finish through the play. Instead, he jumps into the air for some reason with Hendon Hooker not even starting his throwing motion.
That allows Hooker to duck underneath it, and then lets Steelers’ rookie Julius Welschof come in to clean things up for the sack.
While Loudermilk’s missed tackle was ugly and rather frustrating, it wasn’t all that encouraging seeing two defensive staples miss tackles earlier in the game.
Veteran cornerback Donte Jackson fittingly on the first snap of the game missed a tackle in space, setting the tone for the game from a tackling perspective for the Steelers.
This can’t be happening in space from a veteran cornerback.
Jackson should be using the sideline as an extra defender in this situation. Instead, he’s a bit too aggressive and gets his head outside towards the boundary. At that point, he leaves the inside free and clear, and he’s not in a good position to make this play.
Head and shoulder on the wrong side, and out of control on the breakdown, leading to a bad whiff in space. Hopefully he cleans that up entering the season.
A few drives later, veteran linebacker Elandon Roberts missed attacking downhill on a run play in the backfield.
It’s a play Roberts made consistently last season.
He reads it well, fires downhill and is in good position for the play. He just misses with the arm tackle attempt.
Roberts will be better once the regular season rolls around, at least in situations like this. He’s a steady defender, one that makes those plays consistently. But this miss was a bit concerning with it coming against Detroit’s backups in extended snaps for Roberts.
With the 16 misses on the afternoon, the Steelers were going to need a miracle in the forced missed tackles department to at least push for a tie in the key in-game battle. That didn’t occur though. The Steelers forced just 9 missed tackles in the 24-17 loss, losing the tackle battle by a mark of -7. That dropped them to 2-1 on the season, having won the tackles battle matchups with marks of +4 against the Texans and +1 against the Bills earlier in the preseason.
TOTAL FORCED MISSED TACKLES AT LIONS — 9
La’Mical Perine – 3
Aaron Shampklin – 2
Dez Fitzpatrick – 2
Scotty Miller – 1
Cordarrelle Patterson – 1
TOTAL FORCED MISSED TACKLES THROUGH THREE PRESEASON GAMES — 33 (11.0 PER GAME)
La’Mical Perine — 6
Justin Fields — 5
Najee Harris – 3
George Pickens – 2
Aaron Shampklin – 4
Jaylen Warren – 2
Daijun Edwards – 2
Dez Fitzpatrick — 2
Calvin Austin III – 1
Kyle Allen – 1
Jaray Jenkins – 1
Connor Heyward — 1
Quez Watkins — 1
Cordarrelle Patterson — 1
Scotty Miller — 1
Though the forced missed tackles numbers weren’t all that gaudy this week compared to last week, the Steelers did a nice job forcing misses where it counted, leading to explosive plays.
Of course, Cordarrelle Patterson had the biggest forced missed tackle, causing the Detroit safety to whiff in the open field on his 31-yard touchdown run.
Not only is it perfect blocking up front from rookie center Zach Frazier and veteran guard Isaac Seumalo, but Patterson showed off his burst and open-field abilities, making the Lions’ safety whiff badly in space, allowing him to walk into the end zone for the game’s opening score.
Later on in the game, wide receiver Dez Fitzpatrick made a case for the 53-man roster on his 59-yard catch and run.
By the time he shed the first would-be tackler around the 40-yard line, Fitzpatrick gained another 22 yards on the play, taking it all the way down to the 18-yard line. That’s a fantastic job after the catch, especially cutting back inside to avoid the safety.
Maybe Fitzpatrick could have outrun the safety down the sideline, but he made a great call in the moment, forced a second missed tackle and hit big on the explosive play.
