Before the season, Mike Tomlin teased the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense as a potentially historic group. Through two games, he’s right, but not how he envisioned it. Allowing 30-plus points in the first two games of a season for the first time since 1989, T.J. Watt knows the Steelers’ defense can and must be a better product.
“We’re gonna have to look at it and break it down,” Watt said via the team website when asked about the continued defensive woes. “Clearly, the same issues are rearing their head from last week and in the NFL, you don’t have time to go back after each and every game…you need to make the adjustments before they happen, and if they happen in-game, before they’re allowed to continue to snowball like they did today and like they did last week.”
To some small level of fairness, one touchdown didn’t fall on the defense’s shoulders. Rookie running back Kaleb Johnson gaffed by letting a kickoff bounce past him and into the end zone, recovered by Seattle for a touchdown. That truly served as a turning point in the game.
But it hardly absolves what the defense did, or didn’t do, especially in the second half. Even with injuries, Pittsburgh’s front was gashed for roughly 80 second-half yards and couldn’t make stops late. Linebacker Patrick Queen missed a free shot on QB Sam Darnold that allowed a third-down conversion, while RB Kenneth Walker ripped off a 19-yard touchdown on third-and-goal to salt the game away.
“We’re way too talented. We have way too good of schemes to allow this to continue to happen week after week.”
Even if Watt’s assertion is correct, the results are all that matter. Two games in, the results simply aren’t good enough. Pittsburgh’s run defense isn’t getting stops. The pass rush isn’t getting home, recording only three sacks in two games. Watt himself hasn’t recorded a sack in six straight games. Better run defense will increase those chances, but the Steelers have still missed opportunities over the first two games.
“Back to the drawing board,” Watt said.
The drawing board will involve preparing for the New England Patriots next Sunday. They field a young offense under an old-school head coach in Mike Vrabel, and posted 33 points in a win over the Miami Dolphins earlier today. Some of the Patriots’ points came on a kick return touchdown, proving that getting stops on special teams can be just as important as they are on defense.
