While losing in the preseason ultimately does not matter, teams still want to win. Unfortunately, the Pittsburgh Steelers couldn’t do that against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Saturday, losing their second preseason game 17-14. They were likely also upset by how their starting units performed to begin the game. After their offense turned the ball over, their defense allowed a touchdown. On that play, Payton Wilson was beaten in coverage by running back Bucky Irving.
“One-hundred out of 100 times, I should make that play, but I just didn’t,” Wilson said Monday via 93.7 The Fan on Twitter. “I’ve got to turn my head around. The coverage I felt like was good. I was on it, I was low inside trailing. We were in two-man, so just got to get my head around quick, make the play.”
It wasn’t Wilson’s best rep. To be fair, he did have good coverage on Irving. He was tight up against the running back, not giving him much room to work with. However, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater threw a great pass, hitting Irving perfectly for a touchdown.
Like Wilson said, he should’ve gotten his head around to get eyes on the ball. He was in good position to knock the ball down had he been aware of where it was at.
Fortunately, it’s still the preseason, so hopefully, Wilson doesn’t make that mistake again when the games matter. His coverage ability is arguably his greatest strength, and as a rookie last season, he made plenty of plays. His interception against the Baltimore Ravens was an example of his great skills.
Wilson figures to have a bigger role on the Steelers’ defense this season. He and Patrick Queen will be their starters at inside linebacker, meaning the former third-round pick will find himself getting tested more often. Luckily, the mistake he made against the Bucs is correctable.
We’ll see if Wilson gets a chance to redeem himself in the Steelers’ preseason finale, or if he’ll have to wait until the regular season to better show his talents in coverage. He’s got great potential, thanks in large part due to his rare combination of size and athleticism. Wilson could have a bright future in the NFL, but he still needs to work on cleaning up the little things in his game.
