Once a proud member of one of the greatest defenses in Pittsburgh Steelers’ history, former safety and current ESPN analyst Ryan Clark loathed what he saw happen at Acrisure Stadium Sunday night. Watching the defense give up a 16-play, game-winning drive with the go-ahead score coming on 4th down, Clark took the defense to task for wilting in the game’s most critical moments.
“I wanna talk about my disappointment with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Where’s Patrick Queen stepping up and make making plays?” Clark said on NFL Live Monday afternoon. “And Elandon Roberts making plays. And then no matter what you think about the offensive performance of Justin Fields and the lack of a run game against the Dallas Cowboys who couldn’t stop it, you have the lead 17-13, late in that game in your stadium. And you’re supposed to be the vaunted Pittsburgh Steelers defense. Make a stop, find a way to get a hand on a football. Find a way to get a turnover.”
Clark broke down the coverage busts in the secondary that led not only to third-down conversions but huge gains downfield. The Cowboys completed three explosive plays of 20-plus yards on third down, including two for more than 30 yards. Queen hasn’t made enough splash and has just one tackle for loss this season, the same number as CB Donte Jackson, CB Joey Porter Jr., and NT Montravius Adams. Roberts should be commended for his incredible forced fumble at the goal line that Pittsburgh couldn’t recover.
Bottom line, the Steelers win those types of games. Up late, one-possession margin, a chance to close things out. And they collapsed down the stretch as Dallas wore them down. Injuries were a factor, the team was down to two outside linebackers tasked with playing every snap, but the Steelers had more than enough chances to stand tall and deliver. They failed. For Clark, it was a winnable game that Pittsburgh handed to Dallas.
“I feel like the Steelers lost this game more than the Dallas Cowboys won it,” he said. “And the Steelers aren’t good enough to allow some of these games to slip away.”
With the loss, Pittsburgh fell out of first place in the AFC North for the first time this season. With Baltimore’s thrilling overtime win against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Ravens now hold the tiebreaking lead for top spot in the division.
While AFC North games with Pittsburgh are normally slugfests, the Ravens and Bengals have shown they can put up points in bunches. The question is if the Steelers’ offense can hang with them and now, coming off two underwhelming showings, if their defense can also close the door.
