The Pittsburgh Steelers’ defensive communication has been lackluster over their last two losses, as they’ve allowed receivers to get far too open. Against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 16, they allowed two easy red-zone touchdowns that were the result of communication issues, and Mike Tomlin said he was “displeased” with allowing those scores. It’s tougher to communicate in a road environment, and that’s where the Steelers have really had their issues this season. Speaking to the media today, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said fixing communication is a focus and explained how the Steelers plan on doing so.
“You solve a lot more problems with really good communication. The way we’ll try to solve it is obviously with the walkthroughs when we do the practice. Even though they’re not gonna be high intensity, we should hear everything that’s going on. We should be really demonstrative in how we communicate in what we say and what we do. Be really intentional in that regard to make it stick. And I think that’s really gotta be our focus,” Austin said via Chris Adamski of TribLive on Twitter.
It’s really the second two-game stretch this season where defensive communication has been lackluster, as the team had issues in Week 4 against the Indianapolis Colts and Week 5 against the Dallas Cowboys. Those issues are showing up again, as they had issues communicating against the Eagles in Week 15 and the Ravens in Week 16. Three of those four games were on the road, and the numbers show that Pittsburgh’s defense is significantly worse away from Acrisure Stadium. They’re allowing 22.9 points per game on the road versus just 15.5 points per game at home, and communication issues can be pointed to a major factor as to why.
It’s a serious problem and one the Steelers need to fix before the playoffs. While their final two regular-season games are at Acrisure Stadium, the defense simply has to work to communicate better, and if it continues to be an issue, this is a team that won’t go far in the postseason. They’ve allowed too many chunk plays with receivers being wide open, and it makes them easy to beat through the air, even with a potent pass rush.
While the Steelers won’t have a ton of time to really practice before their game against the Chiefs on Wednesday, communication is something that can still be worked on in walkthroughs or light practices, and with a mini bye before Week 18, it’s something the Steelers will really look to hone in on and make sure it’s not a problem. It’s just something that can’t happen for a team that has aspirations of making a playoff run, and the players and coaches know it and will surely work to get it fixed as soon as possible.
