Missed tackles were an issue for the second week in a row for the Pittsburgh Steelers in their 34-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday, and it’s an issue that head coach Mike Tomlin is worried about. Tomlin said the missed tackles showing up again is “concerning” for the Steelers.
“It’s concerning, certainly. We gotta be better,” Tomlin said in his press conference via the team’s YouTube channel.
To clean up the missed tackles, Tomlin said the Steelers have to get “back to the lab.”
It’s going to be tough to do too much in the proverbial lab with another short week ahead, as the Steelers turn around and host the Kansas City Chiefs on Wednesday at 1 p.m. The short week won’t allow the Steelers to do much in practice, but following that game the team does have a mini-bye before taking on the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 18 on Jan. 5.
After missing 20 tackles against the Eagles last week, the Steelers turned in a similarly ugly performance. RB Derrick Henry alone forced at least 10 missed tackles, per the FOX broadcast, and Pittsburgh also struggled with missed tackles out in space in the passing game. It’s no surprise that the Steelers have lost each of the last two weeks with tackling being such an issue, and it’s something the team is going to need to get sorted out.
One key factor could be the absence of S DeShon Elliott, who has proven to be the team’s best tackler this season. Elliott has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury, and his absence has been felt. The Steelers also played most of the game today with two backup cornerbacks in James Pierre and Cory Trice Jr. due to injuries to Donte Jackson and Joey Porter Jr., which also didn’t help matters.
But the biggest issues came up front against Henry, who ran all over the Steelers and totaled 162 yards on the ground. While Henry is one of the toughest runners in the league to bring down, the Steelers were just bad when it came to tackling him today, and it’s an issue that can’t persist. If the Steelers continue to struggle to bring down ball carriers, they’re not going to find much postseason success, so it’s something that the team will need to get cleaned up quickly with the playoffs just a few weeks away.
It’s something that could improve if the Steelers can get healthier on defense, but either way, Tomlin knows it has to get fixed. It should continue to be a point of emphasis for Pittsburgh in practice going forward.
