The Steelers' defense gave up the most points it has this season in their 39-38 win against the Ravens. While they added many new packages in their attempts to adjust to life without Ryan Shazier, there were several glaring issues that came out on tape that absolutely have to be remedied before moving forward.
We break down those issues and some of the qualities that saved the defense in key moments:
PROBLEMS VS. THE RUN
Prior to their game against the Ravens, the Steelers' defense had averaged giving up less than 100 yards per game on the ground, but after allowing 152 yards to the Ravens, that average has jumped to 102.9 yards. It was also the first time the Steelers had surrendered more than 100 yards on the ground in consecutive games all season.
Many of the problems came directly from the Ravens knowing how to exploit the Steelers' inside linebackers who replaced Shazier. While Vince Williams was the normal starter, L.J. Fort, Arthur Moats and newly re-acquired Sean Spence were all used as a second inside linebacker in the Steelers' defensive schemes.
Shazier was playing at a consistent all-pro level throughout the season and could account for many responsibilities. Not only would he be able to play the correct gaps, but his speed would help defeat entire blocking schemes by outrunning linemen and beating them to various spots.
Taking those skills for granted would be a mistake, and the platoon of replacements the Steelers employed at inside linebacker exposed just how vital Shazier was to the defense when he was healthy.
Watch how Moats plays the A-gap and is one-on-one with the Ravens' center, Ryan Jensen, on the play below. Jensen is uncovered by the defensive line, which means Moats has to know he they will be engaged with each other if the Ravens run the ball.
But as Joe Flacco hands it off to Alex Collins, Moats hesitates and shifts so far to his left that Jensen is able to advance five yards past the line of scrimmage and completely seal Moats from the A-gap. While guard Matt Skura does get away with a bit of a hold on Javon Hargrave, Jansen's seal on Moats opens up a huge hole for Collins to work through:
Mike Mitchell also misses a tackle in open space because he puts his head down, but that's a rare fundamental mistake on his part. The alarming part of this is that the issues at the second inside linebacker position in Keith Butler's defense were persistent throughout the game and were the root of several problems that spread throughout the Steelers' defense.
What kept the Ravens' ground game in check at times was the Steelers' defensive line. Cam Heyward, Stephon Tuitt and Javon Hargrave all put in impressive performances as they tried to step up and aid the linebacker unit that was down its most valuable member.
Watch how Hargrave jumps off the snap so quickly that he goes from one A-gap to the other and takes out the pulling tight end, Maxx Williams, in an effort that completely destroys the Ravens' counter-trap run scheme. Notice how that also pulls off one of the linemen involved in a double-team against Heyward and allows him to be involved in bottling up Collins:
Sean Davis comes into the fray to finish the play for a tackle for loss, but it was the defensive line that did all the work on the play. Better play from the defensive line can mask problems at linebacker, but that is not something the Steelers can expect to save them consistently throughout a game.
A certain storyline for the rest of their season will be how these inside linebackers either remain as glaring liabilities or improve in their gap integrity.
But replacing Shazier wasn't the only problem on Sunday night for the Steelers' defense, as Flacco also had his way with several passes that worked through Butler's schemes.
STILL FALLING FOR DOUBLE MOVES
One problem we had seen with the Steelers' secondary in recent games was their penchant for giving up big plays on double moves from receivers deep down the field.
Davis fell victim to some of those problems and could be seen losing in coverage where he was in position to make plays. One example was a second quarter touchdown pass from Flacco to Chris Moore who basically used a stutter step to freeze Davis and then breezed on by him to the end zone:
As a safety, Davis is responsible to both make sure nobody gets behind him and that players entering his zone of the field get blanketed. While that sounds simple enough, those two responsibilities can often blur to a defensive back based on when the ball might reach the receiver.
Davis made a great play on the ball from a Cover 2 man scheme in which he baited Flacco into a deep pass and intercepted the ball for a red zone turnover. But on a later play you saw the problem of him falling for a double move appear again.
This time he bit on what appeared to be a post pattern to the middle of the defense by Mike Wallace. Davis went for what he thought was a post route, but then Wallace cut back up the field and got past Davis:
Davis' tendencies are certainly going to be noted by Bill Belichick and the Patriots as they study the Steelers' tape for ways to exploit their weaknesses on defense. Being more disciplined in these moments and learning how to balance the aggressiveness of a ballhawk is something that comes with experience.
Fortunately for the Steelers, Davis is just in his second year in the NFL and has shown drastic improvement in how he's been playing. Both he and Artie Burns are in the same position in that respect, and with the rookie cornerback Cam Sutton getting 24 snaps against the Bengals and 29 against the Ravens, it's obvious the Steelers are continuing to rely on youth at defensive back.
However, should Joe Haden return this week, that will definitely reduce Sutton's snap count, as he's only been used outside the numbers.
TIMELY RUSH
One thing that the Steelers are going to have to rely on to mask their coverage problems will be their pass rush getting after quarterbacks. While the team's only sack came from T.J. Watt on the final play of the game, there were other moments where they forced Flacco's hand at the right times.
Watch how Tuitt turned into an edge rusher as the Steelers used Bud Dupree to drop into coverage and take away Jeremy Maclin. Tuitt easily brushed off right tackle Austin Howard, and forced Flacco to dump a quick pass down to Michael Campanero for an incompletion, resulting in a stop on third down:
Tuitt has been useful in multiple facets for Butler's defense. While he is a solid pass rusher and good against the run, he also has a great instinct for which passing lanes to clog when he's playing a spy role instead of blitzing.
That became evident when he had a pass defensed in the fourth quarter to force the Ravens to punt on what would eventually become the Steelers' game-winning drive. The Ravens called a play-action pass which drew Fort, No. 54, up to the line of scrimmage as he anticipated a run.
This opened up the middle of the field for Maclin to attack on a quick slant, and he beat Sutton, but fortunately Tuitt was waiting the entire time and put his hands up to deflect the pass away:
Davis gets bonus points for the hit he laid on Maclin after the deflection. While it may look like he launched and led with his head, Davis put his body behind Maclin once he saw the ball get tipped and used his arms to hit the receiver across the chest and lay him out.
There are bright spots to watch as the Steelers' defense still does have several talented players on it. But losing Shazier was a huge blow as he was a centerpiece to everything the Steelers did. Both his help against the run and pass coverage in the middle of the defense helped compensate for other defenders who are still learning their way in the NFL.
But with Tom Brady and the Patriots' offense coming to Heinz Field on Sunday, the problems they exhibited against the Ravens cannot be allowed to persist against the team that eliminated the Steelers from the playoffs last season.
We will be getting into all that preparation with our special video edition of Carter's Classroom later this week.