After a blowout loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at Acrisure Stadium, a handful of Pittsburgh Steelers defensive players made it clear they were fed up with communication issues, missed assignments and guys running wide open for the Chiefs.
Safety DeShon Elliott had the harshest words, stating guys just weren’t doing their “fricking jobs” in the loss to the Chiefs. Linebacker Patrick Queen stated that nobody is doing anything about fixing the problems defensively, which have been pretty apparent during the Steelers’ three-game losing streak.
Those problems were very clear on Christmas Day, too, as the Chiefs carved up the Steelers, and in the second half there were a number of plays in which players such as tight end Travis Kelce were running wide open in the secondary as the Steelers had breakdown after breakdown.
For team captain and star defensive lineman Cameron Heyward, the lack of execution and lack of communication are frustrating. Speaking to reporters after the game, Heyward said that for all the talk about execution and communication if one player doesn’t do his job, the defense is “screwed.”
“We talk about execution, we talk about communicating, whether there’s somebody free and 10 guys do the job and one guy doesn’t, we’re screwed,” Heyward said about how frustrating it is as a defense to give up easy touchdowns to free receivers, according to video via Pittsburgh’s DSEN on YouTube.
That happened twice against the Chiefs. Rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy was wide open in the flat on his 7-yard scoring reception with safety Minkah Fitzpatrick making a mistake, leading to the Chiefs’ opening touchdown.
In the second half the Chiefs had free guys all over the place as coverage broke down in a major way. On Kelce’s touchdown, he was left wide open for some inexplicable reason.
All of it has the defense fed up. It has the fans frustrated, too. After being so good for the first 13 weeks of the season, the Steelers’ defense has completely collapsed. The miscommunications are getting worse and worse, and the vibes are just not high whatsoever right now regarding the highest-paid unit in football.
They’ve got to get on the same page, and fast. The frustration and voicing of displeasure are becoming concerning. Things are getting ugly.
