Heading into last week’s game in Cincinnati, the Pittsburgh Steelers defense had strung together three impressive performances. Forcing five turnovers in New England, recording six sacks against Minnesota and holding Cleveland to nine points were all developments to be excited about.
Put bluntly, Pittsburgh’s defensive performance against the Bengals was a disaster. Joe Flacco, who had been with the Bengals for less than 10 days, racked up 342 yards. The veteran QB’s stat line was aided by All-Pro receiver Ja’Marr Chase’s career day. When the dust had settled, he had broken his own record for number of receptions in a game by a Bengals receiver with 16. The Steelers had no answers for Chase or Tee Higgins, who had a season high in receiving yards.
To make matters worse, Bengals running back Chase Brown also had his best game of the season as Cincinnati’s much-maligned running game finally had a breakout game. After two straight games holding their opponents under 100 yards rushing, the Steelers defense couldn’t stop the run all night and allowed 142 yards on the ground.
According to T.J. Watt, the defensive breakdowns are fixable
When asked on Sportsline with George Von Benko if the defense was able to identify what the issues were coming from after looking over the film, Watt said “it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see, especially in the run game.”
“I mean, it’s all just staying in your gap, playing physical, playing sound, getting hats to the ball, tackling the football, things like that,” Watt continued. “And that’s the beauty of football. There is no over-complicating things. When you break down the tape, you can see where the gaps are open and where the gashes are hitting us in the running game.”
Von Benko clarified what has been on the minds of all Steelers faithful this week by asking one more direct question: They are correctable?
“And they absolutely are correctable,” replied Watt. “It’s just about trusting in each other, doing our job and playing as best as we possibly can as a unit.”
It’s definitely reassuring to hear Watt, a leader of the defense, state confidently that the issues are correctable. Watt’s comments suggest that the consensus in the Steelers locker room after reviewing the tape is that the problems are more fundamental in nature as opposed to any lack of talent or scheme issues.
Simple corrections like players staying in their gap, tackling and communication will lead to better results.
We all know this Steelers defense has the talent to be a top unit. While there have been some big changes to the unit since last season, it’s hard to forget the way the defense performed at the end of last season and into the playoffs. It’s impossible to play sound defense when you can’t stop the run.
The Steelers will have a chance to make a statement this week with another primetime game against a talented Packers offense that features Josh Jacobs, a three-time Pro Bowl running back.
