Pittsburgh Steelers players and head coach Mike Tomlin have differing views on the defense’s effort, or lack thereof, in a Sunday night loss to the Green Bay Packers. During his Tuesday press conference, Tomlin said pure effort wasn’t the reason why QB Jordan Love, TE Tucker Kraft, and WR Christian Watson torched the Steelers to the tune of 35 points. Not everyone agrees.
“One thing that’s a little bit concerning that I heard from multiple players in the locker room is that there was a question of effort throughout this loss to the Packers,” beat reporter Brooke Pryor said on SportsCenter following Tomlin’s presser. “That negative plays snowballed in the second half. It built up and built up. Mike Tomlin said, ‘Look, this is not an effort thing.'”
It’s unclear if Pryor is referring to on-the-record comments made by DL Cam Heyward, CB Joey Porter Jr., and others who described a lack of “fight” in the second half when a 16-7 Steelers halftime lead into a 10-point loss. Or if Steelers teammates discussed the issues off the record or amongst themselves. It’s rare to hear Steelers players question things like “fight” and with such comments being made publicly, who knows what’s being said behind closed doors.
Either way, it’s a contrast to the picture Tomlin painted. Tomlin believes the effort was there against the Packers. The results simply weren’t.
“I don’t necessarily say a lack of fight in terms of effort,” he said Tuesday via the team’s YouTube channel. “I’m talking about fight in terms of playmaking. You don’t get credit for for trying hard. We’re not in the try-hard business. Our fight is about production and producing and we certainly didn’t produce enough plays.”
That much can be agreed upon. Pittsburgh’s defense has gone 13-straight quarters without a takeaway, the unit’s longest such streak since a 16-quarter stretch in 2022. If the Steelers go a full fourth consecutive game without one, it’ll be for just the second time since the 1970 merger. Still, that can be fixed. But if there’s a deeper-seated issue of poor effort, Tomlin may not be able to right the ship. Over the team’s last 14 games, playoffs included, the Steelers are allowing an average of 26 points.
Pittsburgh faces another tough test on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. A team scoring nearly 34 points per game. If that holds for the rest of the season, would be the most in the NFL since the 2018 Kansas City Chiefs. The Steelers will have to earn their bounce back or else questions over this team, internal and external, will mount.
