The Pittsburgh Steelers have looked rough after the past few weeks due to several weaknesses. One of their biggest issues is their secondary. During this losing streak, the Steelers have had a difficult time covering well. With the Cincinnati Bengals coming to town, they’re going to need to get back on track quickly. Luckily, they’re getting healthy on the backend. Bengals wide receivers coach Troy Walters understands that, even if the Steelers’ secondary is dealing with injuries, that doesn’t make them any less dangerous.
“They’re beat up, but they play hard,” Walters said Tuesday on Lance McAlister’s podcast, Bengals Line. “They’re going to be physical. They’ve got long corners, they’ve got length. We’ll see if Porter plays, Joey Porter Jr., but if he doesn’t, they still have other guys that are long.”
Although the Steelers have gotten several players in their secondary back, that doesn’t mean Walters is wrong. They have been a battered group recently. Just a few games ago, they were missing Donte Jackson and DeShon Elliott. Then, Porter left with an injury. That left James Pierre and Cory Trice Jr. as their starters on the outside.
While those players may not be starters, Walters is correct that they do not lack length. Pierre stands at around 6’2”, and Trice is even bigger at 6’3”. The Steelers like to have size at corner, and against the Bengals, that will be key.
It sounds like Porter will be good to go this week, which should give the Steelers their entire starting secondary. They’re likely all dealing with various bumps or bruises, but at this point in the year, so is everyone else. Having them out there at all should provide a boost.
When the Steelers played the Bengals earlier this year, their secondary had a tough time containing Cincinnati’s star receivers. Ja’Marr Chase had six catches for 86 yards and one touchdown. Tee Higgins also posted five catches for 69 yards and a touchdown of his own. He also gave Porter some fits when it came to penalties.
While that isn’t the worst outing by the Steelers’ secondary this year, it wasn’t pretty either. That game was a shootout, and big-bodied receivers in Chase and Higgins gave them fits. The Steelers have size at corner to match up with them, but that doesn’t guarantee they’ll get stops.
We’ll see if the Steelers’ secondary can fare better against the Bengals this time around. They are in a slump, but perhaps they can take some positive steps forward this week. The Bengals aren’t going to make that easy, but that should make this game a good test for the Steelers.
