Many members of the national media had been singing the praises of the Pittsburgh Steelers, particularly of their star-studded defense, which allowed just 26 points in the first three weeks of the season and was simply dominating in the second half of games.
There was the outstanding second half in the season-opening win against the Atlanta Falcons, the Steelers pitching a shutout and allowing just 55 total yards, and then an even more dominant display in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Chargers, holding them to -5 yards of total offense to put the game away.
But on Sunday in Indianapolis in Week 4 against the Colts, the Steelers didn’t have an answer for backup quarterback Joe Flacco, who played the majority of the game after a first-quarter injury to Anthony Richardson.
Flacco helped lead the Colts to a 27-24 win, throwing two touchdown passes in the Steelers’ first loss of the season.
That vaunted Steelers’ defense looked like it didn’t have a clue how to deal with a quarterback the franchise is all too familiar with, and that has former NFL defensive lineman Chris Canty calling the Steelers frauds Monday morning.
In a segment on ESPN’s “Unsportsmanlike Conduct” radio show, Canty made it clear that he has had enough of the Steelers praise from early in the season after what happened Sunday in Lucas Oil Stadium.
“Frauds. I’m doing it. I hate to do it to my frat brother, Mike Tomlin, but I gotta say no, they’re frauds,” Canty said of the Steelers after the Week 4 loss, according to audio via ESPN.com. “I don’t want to hear about how it’s a great defense. You’re not a great defense. The Colts kept hitting their head on the goalpost to start the game. I mean, they led with three straight scoring drives, including back-to-back touchdowns. No, they’re frauds. Don’t gimme that.
“And in the backup quarterback, Joe Flacco comes in and looks great. If you are the best defense in the entire NFL, how do you let that game get that out hand for your offense? No, man. Frauds. Frauds. The Pittsburgh Steelers are frauds.”
It was a dreadful performance by the Steelers’ defense, without a doubt, and it started right away.
The Colts hit an explosive play from Anthony Richardson to Michael Pittman Jr. for 32 yards on the first snap. Then running back Jonathan Taylor had a 14-yard run. Six plays later, the Colts were in the end zone for an easy opening-drive touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
On the next Colts’ drive, they went 86 yards in nine plays to add another touchdown and then added a field goal on the third drive of the game, doing largely whatever they wanted against the league’s best defense while racing out to a 17-0 lead.
The Steelers couldn’t stop the run earl, had no answers for Richardson in the passing game and then seemed to catch a break once Richardson got hurt and left the game.
But Flacco diced them up, too, throwing for 168 yards and two touchdowns, carving up the Steelers on underneath routes while taking advantage of Pittsburgh’s soft zone. Though the Steelers found a way to stop the run late in the game and got the final stop they needed to give their offense a chance to tie the game or ultimately win it, it was nowhere near a good enough defensive performance from a unit that was drawing comparisons to the Steel Curtain just last week.
And now, it’s leading to comments about them being frauds after just one week, one loss. That’s the hot-take industry that the world is now. It’s not a surprise that Canty lashed out at the Steelers that way, but it doesn’t make it any more reasonable. It’s the NFL, and the Steelers came up small in Week 4.
But it’s not one performance that shapes the season one way or another.
