'We're not making the plays:' For defense, focus is on winning 50-50s

Anytime the Steelers defense allows a big play, a certain point tends to be brought up shortly after:

This is the highest paid defense in the NFL.

Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin has heard those cries and doesn't think it's been particularly fair, even if that defense hasn't lived up to their lofty expectations thus far.

"To me, I don't think the money and all that stuff, the expectations, we just want to play well," Austin said. "I think that regardless of how much you're getting paid, these guys have a lot of pride of being football players. They've earned the money, but they want to play well. They can care less about 'hey, I'm making this much so I've got to play well.' They want to play well because they love the game, and at times we're just not making the plays we need to."

And when fans have bemoaned about the defense, it has usually been due to the secondary.

Entering Week 12, the Steelers rank last in passing yards allowed per game (272.1), 30th in yards allowed per pass attempt (7.8) and allowed the most passing touchdowns in the league (22). That's despite having the seventh-lowest completion percentage allowed (61.3%).

If you're giving up plenty of yards on not a ton of completions, the problem is clear: The big play.

It's been a recurring problem all year, including against the Bills in Week 5:

Week 8 against the Eagles:

And, well, just about all of Week 11 against the Bengals, in which they allowed 37 points, a pair of 90-plus yard drives, seven plays of at least 20 yards and 355 passing yards to Joe Burrow.

"There's been a lot of times we've been in position to make a play, and we're not making the plays," Austin said. "A lot of balls that a lot times go down as 50-50, we're losing the majority of those, and we've got to get better at winning those."

Case in point Sunday, this Trenton Irwin touchdown where Arthur Maulet was just a fraction of a step behind from a potential game-changing interception.

Sure, they can practice those situations more, though it is difficult to simulate every angle the play could come in at, but if they want to change this trend, it's probably going to have to be on Sunday.

"If we start winning a few of these -- which we have to -- if we start to winning a few of these, then you start winning them," Austin said. "It's a confidence game sometimes."

Sunday was the first time all year that the Steelers had all three of their safeties available: Minkah Fitzpatrick, Terrell Edmunds and Damontae Kazee. The Bengals' use of three wideouts prevented the Steelers from using them as often as they would have liked Sunday, but it could be a way to help a secondary that's been bullied this year.

"All three of them can ball," Levi Wallace said. "... Those guys work really well together. I have complete trust in all of them behind me and feel good about it."

And they are sticking with their plan, even if the front seven has not been able to apply consistent pressure this season. Sure, the Steelers could bring the house more often, but that just opens up a new can of worms for how to cover players.

"I don't think we would abandon all the things that we think are solid with our defense," Austin said. "We just have to play those things better."