In a game where the Pittsburgh Steelers managed to put up 31 points on the road and lose by two to an AFC North opponent on a short week, we don't want to act on knee-jerk reactions. However, when the defensive game plan was utterly inexcusable, there needed to be consequences.
Pittsburgh has the highest-paid defense in the NFL, but as we've seen, they aren't immune to a dismal performance every now and then. This was one of them. Against the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night Football, the Steelers allowed 40-year-old quarterback Joe Flacco to carve them up for 33 points, which included 342 passing yards and three touchdowns through the air.
But that wasn't the bad part—it was the complete incompetence when covering wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase.
Leading up to the game, I wrote an article specifically about how Chase is the player the Steelers need to account for on TNF. Pittsburgh needed to double-team him frequently with inside-outside leverage and take away Flacco's number one target. Pittsburgh couldn't have done a worse job at this.
Instead of devoting extra attention to Chase, the Steelers let the All-Pro receiver feast all night by crossing the face of the cornerbacks with quick slants and speed outs. This led to an inexcusable 23 targets in the passing game for Chase, which he effortlessly turned into 16 receptions (a new Bengals franchise record) for 161 yards and a touchdown.
After carving up the Steelers' defense in the first half, head coach Mike Tomlin and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin failed to make changes. In fact, Chase's performance only escalated from there. When you put on the all-22 film of Chase, you'll see how open he is throughout the course of the game.
Every Steelers fan watching this embarrassing Thursday Night Football Performance from home knew exactly where Flacco wanted to go with the football, but Austin and Tomlin didn't even attempt to slow down Cincy's best player.
This game plan has fans calling for an in-season firing... and it's hardly the first time this has happened.
The Pittsburgh Steelers must fire Teryl Austin after another egregious defensive game plan against WR Ja'Marr Chase.
Pittsburgh's defensive players are hardly innocent in the loss. The cornerbacks—Joey Porter Jr., Darius Slay, and Jalen Ramsey—played pitifully as a unit, and nobody on this side of the football looked good against the Bengals. At the same time, when everyone looks bad, can't we often chalk that up to a coaching problem?
Think back to last year's season finale against the Cincinnati Bengals. With injuries at the cornerback position, second-year cornerback Cory Trice Jr. made his first-ever NFL start. What was his assignment? To lock down Ja'Marr Chase all afternoon with almost no help at all.
At the time, fans were furious over Tomlin and Austin's puzzling game plan... and they had every right to be. In a game that determined playoff seeding for Pittsburgh, we all knew Joe Burrow was going to try to get the ball to Chase early and often.
Then, one week later, in the Wild Card round against the Baltimore Ravens, Austin had another inexcusable game plan in the playoffs.
Somehow, that game plan in Week 17 and in the playoffs last season wasn't as bad as what we just witnessed in Week 7 on TNF.
Fans have had enough. The lack of defensive intensity and the absence of halftime adjustments can't continue. Somebody has to be held accountable for the atrocity we just witnessed. While Mike Tomlin runs the show, we know he's not going anywhere. Teryl Austin might be just a scapegoat, but the Steelers have to start somewhere.
Before coming to Pittsburgh as an assistant coach, Austin had a poor track record as defensive coordinator in his final seasons with the Lions and Bengals. This experiment continues to go south, and the Steelers need to make a change.