The Pittsburgh Steelers weren’t going to go undefeated this year, but the manner in which they lost their first game was unexpected. Their elite defense got run over by Joe Flacco and the Indianapolis Colts. It was a brutal day, with no one looking particularly great. After the game, Patrick Queen took the blame for many of the defensive breakdowns.
“It’s unacceptable on our part, starting with me,” Queen said via Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I gotta do a better job of just getting [the calls] out to everybody. I’ll take the blame for all that stuff.”
Queen is the quarterback of the defense, meaning he is the communicator on that side of the ball. In that aspect, the Steelers looked lost. Flacco converted multiple third-and-longs, a sign of just how lost the Steelers’ defense was. Even early, when Anthony Richardson was in at quarterback, the Steelers looked overmatched.
Flacco’s second touchdown pass is a great example of just how poorly the Steelers were communicating. The play came at the beginning of the fourth quarter, with the Steelers only down 17-10. It was 3rd and 10 from the Steelers’ 15-yard line. Holding the Colts to a field goal there would have been great, still leaving the door wide open for them to come back. Instead, they collapsed.
Flacco found tight end Drew Ogletree short of the first down, but there wasn’t a Steelers defender anywhere close to him. He proceeded to waltz into the end zone, making the score 24-10. Ogletree started that play by chipping T.J. Watt, but after that, it seemed like the Steelers lost him. Making sure someone covers him is part of Queen’s job.
It wasn’t all Queen’s fault though. The entire defense should share the blame. The Steelers didn’t play well enough as a unit. They got gashed on the ground, crushed through the air, and could not capitalize on any chances to create a turnover. It’s not like the offense did any better, but the defense really had a tough outing. We’ll see if it can look sharper next week.
