The Steelers' perfect record is no more, and part of the reason for the season's first loss was a horrendous start by the defense. The team fell behind 17-0 early, then when the offense came alive and got the team back in the game, the defense had a hard time getting off the field and the Colts did enough to stave off the Steelers' comeback attempt.
"I didn't like the slow start on defense," Mike Tomlin said in his Tuesday press conference at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "We put the defense on the field for a reason, to set a tone, to quell the environment. Oftentimes, it's difficult for offensive units to function at the early stages of a game in a hostile environment and things of that nature. That's why you put the defense on the grass. We didn't get the job done from that perspective. If nothing, if anything, we just intensified the environmental component of the matchup, and so we’ve got to do a better job there. We can't warm up to the action."
Tomlin acknowledged that his team shot themselves in the foot over and over again. And, the film proved that to be true. That was part of the issue on defense, too. There were times in which they had an opportunity to take the ball away and didn't.
But, in this week's Chalk Talk, the film showed that there were a number of factors that played into the defense's struggles:
In three straight appearances against Shane Steichen, the Steelers have given up the following:
• 2022 (Steichen as offensive coordinator of the Eagles): 35 points, 401 yards allowed
• 2023 (Steichen as head coach of the Colts): 30 points, 372 yards allowed
• Sunday: 27 points, 358 yards allowed
He clearly got the better of Tomlin and Teryl Austin, at least out of the gate. The Steelers didn't run any man coverage on the Colts' eight dropbacks in the first quarter. In six of those eight dropbacks, the Steelers were in Cover 3, which is always a zone coverage.
Steichen knows how to attack Cover 3, in part, because his team runs a similar scheme. Indianapolis' defense is primarily a Cover 3 zone defense. Thus, Steichen knows its strengths and weaknesses very well. He had a good game plan.
Now, as you can see in the video, Tomlin and Austin did adjust in the second quarter, shifting to more man coverage. In fact, the Steelers were in man coverage in half of the Colts' 10 dropbacks in the second quarter, whether it was out of Cover 1 or Cover 2. And in the fourth quarter, the Steelers were in Cover 1 on four of the Colts' seven dropbacks.
From the time Tomlin and Austin shifted their plan of attack in the second quarter, the Colts went four straight series without points, including a possession that started on the Steelers' 42-yard line. The Colts only scored 10 more points the rest of the way, so things did get better down the stretch.
But, the players were not void of blame. Joey Porter Jr. had a bad game in coverage. He needed to make a play on the first play of the game and he dropped an interception in the end zone that would have kept three points off the board. In addition, Porter was targeted seven times and allowed five catches for 81 yards and a touchdown. That's a 149.4 passer rating against.
Porter wasn't the only one. The linebackers had a rough day in coverage, and Patrick Queen missed two tackles. There was a lack of execution across the board. And, the busted coverage on the Colts' final touchdown was fitting for the type of day the defense had.
Week 4 just wasn't a good day at the office for just about anyone on the defensive side of the ball. Maybe except for DeShon Elliott. He's been one of the best players on that side of the ball so far, and perhaps the best one on the second and third levels of the defense.
This is still a good defense. And, it's best for them to have a stinker of a game now and learn from it than have something like this happen later in the season when the schedule gets a lot more difficult.
