Injuries
The second reason the Steelers lost should not come as a surprise. It’s been one of those things that every team has to manage. In the Steelers case, it was bound to take its toll eventually, we watched this happen Monday night. It’s the number of injuries the Steelers have sustained on the defense.
Despite getting Stephon Tuitt back, the Steelers had already lost Devin Bush and Bud Dupree for the season prior to Monday’s game. On top of that, the Steelers starting cornerback Stephen Nelson was out due to a knee injury. Then Joe Haden suffered a concussion and missed most of the second half on Monday. Then, if things couldn’t get worse, Robert Spillane injured his knee in the second half and will miss some playing time for the remainder of the season.
As the season has progressed and as injuries occurred on the defense, the backups have stepped up and made big plays. Now the backups are getting injured. It was only a matter of time before someone would victimize them, and Washington did just that. Getting Haden and Nelson back will help tremendously, yet the Steelers linebacking corps remains severely depleted. Add to that Maurkice Pouncy’s absence from the offensive line and no Chris Boswell. Poke enough holes in a levee, sooner or later; it bursts open. It’s no different with the Steelers.
The problem here is with the lack of depth at linebacker; their opposition moves the ball better, scores more points, and puts the offense in the position of having to make more plays to keep them in the game. A wounded defense only puts more pressure on Ben Roethlisberger to play mistake-free. That is generally harder to do when the opposition’s defense no longer has to key on the running game that leaves most of the receivers covered. The Steelers may have one of the most talented receiving corps in the NFL, but double coverage can usually neutralize an excellent passing game.
In the press conference after the game, a reporter posed that very question to Roethlisberger. Washington hardly blitzed during Monday’s game and cheated the safeties up towards the line of scrimmage. Even Roethlisberger noted that didn’t help matters. Of course, he just placed the blame on himself. Though admirable, is hardly the reason they lost
Regardless of where fans want to place blame, that’s why the Steelers lost to Washington. No amount of coaching can fix the injury aspect. Nor will it improve the rushing game, especially if the running backs are not running very well.
So it begs the question, what do the Steelers do going forward? How do you address a sub-par rushing game and the growing number of injuries on their defense? Ok, the short answer is there is no magic wand anyone can wave, which ultimately fixes these issues. That said, the Steelers have options available which, if anything else, could help their situation and allow them to win the remaining four games and give them a good chance to not implode in the postseason. Neither of these options requires draconian measures either.