Even with an 18-point lead late, the Pittsburgh Steelers nearly let it slip away against the Minnesota Vikings. Part of that big comeback was allowing an untimely 81-yard reception to Jordan Addison. DC Teryl Austin took responsibility for that costly mistake Wednesday during his weekly media session.
“We were struggling with who was in the game, and I probably made a call that probably wasn’t simple enough for everybody. So that’s on me,” Austin said via the Steelers’ website. “I’ll make sure if that ever happens again, if we have some attrition the way we did, the way it happened, I gotta give our guys something that’s way more simple that they can line up and play. It may not be the best defense, but it’ll be something where we won’t have a chance to blow it.”
On the play, DeShon Elliott and Darius Slay ended up in the same zone, while Addison blew past Chuck Clark behind the defense.
The responsibilities aren’t fully clear on the call, but Austin suggested afterward it was more complicated than it needed to be. All the Steelers needed to do was not allow an 81-yard reception and the game was as good as over. A three-minute TD drive wouldn’t have mattered, but a two-minute score put the game back within the Vikings’ reach.
This has been a constant theme in the secondary this season. It’s hard to overcome multiple key injuries in one room, especially when those injuries are to the only players who have been around the organization for more than a few months. Mike Tomlin has repeatedly stressed that the Steelers don’t have their full menu available to them on defense with the attrition.
Some of that improved with Elliott returning in Week 4, but Jalen Ramsey and Brandin Echols were both in and out of the lineup on Sunday.
The secondary for this play was Slay, Elliott, Clark, Juan Thornhill, and James Pierre. Down several of their top players, the Steelers should have been in a play call that made each player’s responsibility crystal clear.
Porter should return after the bye, but Ramsey looks likely to miss at least a couple of games. As the defense’s key chess piece, the Steelers will need to simplify things in the secondary. Hopefully, this near collapse made that clear to Austin, Tomlin, and the unit.
