The Pittsburgh Steelers are very close to being able to boast a true championship-caliber defense, but there have been a couple puzzling performances over the first eight games that are cause for concern. One of those was their most recent game against the New York Giants.
They only allowed 18 points, which is good enough to win most games, but allowed 394 total yards, including 157 on the ground. They actually lost the time of possession battle, which is something they have mostly been dominating this year.
Jon Gruden knows the Steelers’ coaching staff isn’t happy with that performance.
“I know Mike Tomlin. He worked with me in Tampa. Big reason why we won a Super Bowl,” Gruden said via his Gruden Loves Football podcast. “When I watched the Giants on Monday Night Football in Pittsburgh two weeks ago, I know Coach [Teryl] Austin and Coach Tomlin aren’t happy with that performance at all.
“The New York Giants came to town, had 157 yards rushing against this statistical greatness of the Steelers. They jammed it in there pretty good. They had gains of 25, 26, 36, 43, 45. They had explosive plays…If it hadn’t been for six pre-snap penalties by the Giants offense, an illegal downfield and the holding call, and a last-second dramatic play by [T.J.] Watt, that might’ve been a different ball game. But I don’t think the Steelers are coming off their best performance at all. Matter of fact, I hope they’re pissed off about it and do something about it in the nation’s capital.”
The Washington Commanders are the best offense that the Steelers will have faced by a pretty large margin. This defense hasn’t had a real test yet. The only offense they have faced in the top half of the league so far is the Atlanta Falcons. Let that sink in. All seven of their other opponents have had offenses in the bottom half of the league. The Falcons are barely in the top half, and the Steelers played them in Week 1 while Kirk Cousins was still shaking off the rust.
The Commanders are ranked 3rd in both points and total yards with 29.2 and 392.0 per game respectively. The Steelers allowed the Giants and Colts to both look good offensively and they have both largely struggled this season.
I agree with Gruden. If the Steelers don’t use their Week 8 performance as fuel to bounce back, they could be in for a rude awakening against the Commanders. They had the bye week to correct those mistakes, and they have some reinforcements on the way. Cam Sutton is back from his suspension and Alex Highsmith is now fully ramped back up from his injury earlier in the season.
They also have the benefit of not having to face RB Brian Robinson Jr., who was ruled out in Friday’s injury report. One of the big reasons for concern is that the Steelers have excelled at bending without breaking on defense. They have been opportunistic with takeaways to help them keep scores down, but the Commanders have only turned the ball over three times.
