Throughout much of the season, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense has been rather good at bending but not breaking, particularly in the red zone.
But on Saturday against the Baltimore Ravens, this late in the season, the Steelers broke twice in the red zone, allowing two easy touchdowns to Baltimore tight ends Isaiah Likely and Mark Andrews, primarily due to miscommunications.
Those miscommunications and the inability to force the Ravens to settle for field goals have Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin feeling “displeased”. Speaking with reporters Sunday on a short week ahead of the Christmas Day matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, Tomlin lamented the defense’s work in the red zone.
“I was really displeased with the two red-zone touchdowns, for example, to the tight ends. It’s just too late in the year to have guys running open like that, to be quite honest with you,” Tomlin said, according to video via the Steelers’ YouTube page. “And so we got some work to do this week in terms of shoring some of that up. Your ability to make people settle for field goals is significant this time of year, particularly when it’s good on good.
“Our inability to do that, coupled with the turnover and complementary discussion that I opened this session up with, is the reason why the score was for the way it was.”
The two red-zone touchdowns were rather frustrating. Both Likely and Andrews were wide open, thanks to a pair of miscommunications from safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and linebacker Patrick Queen on Likely’s score, and Fitzpatrick and cornerback Cameron Sutton on Andrews’ score.
Take a look at both.
As Tomlin stated, it’s far too late in the season to be having miscommunications like this and having guys running free in the passing game, particularly in the red zone. It’s rather frustrating, and he should be displeased, especially with some big-money players not being on the same page.
Queen ripped into the defense Saturday night after the Steelers’ 34-17 loss to the Ravens, stating that they need to get on the same page, and fast, or things could get ugly quickly. One could argue it’s ugly right now, especially with the miscommunications on Saturday night that led to scoring plays for the Ravens.
The Steelers have some work to do on a short week to try and correct some of their communication issues. Their backs are against the wall. While they have a playoff spot locked up, they’re still fighting for an AFC North crown. Saturday’s loss didn’t make things any easier, and injuries and miscommunications don’t help the cause either.
Time to get back in the lab and regroup — and fast.
