The Pittsburgh Steelers have a difficult test this week, hosting the 7-1 Indianapolis Colts. It’s a tough draw for Pittsburgh after two straight weeks of the Steelers’ defense allowing over 450 yards and 30+ points. Conversely, the Colts have scored at least 29 points in all of their wins and at least 350 yards of offense in all but two games.
Like star running back Jonathan Taylor said about his offense, it’s a pick-your-poison type offense, with playmakers playing their best in an offense headed up by playcaller Shane Steichen and quarterback Daniel Jones.
But the main catalyst is Taylor himself. He’s a leading Offensive Player of the Year candidate for a reason, and even if (and that’s a big if already) Pittsburgh can formulate a plan to stifle Jones and the passing offense, they still have to contend with arguably the most impressive rusher in the NFL.
Pittsburgh Steelers’ tackling troubles set up another long, painful Sunday
Unfortunately, that matchup can’t appear much worse than it already does. Taylor leads the NFL in broken tackles with 49 in eight games. The Steelers, on the other hand, have missed the third-most tackles, a whopping 64, trailing Washington by just one and Cincinnati by 20.
While it could clearly be worse, the Steelers' defense has been an oversold batch of slow veterans who also seemingly can’t get the scheme down. The Steelers, particularly Mike Tomlin, seem to think the issues surrounding the defense are rooted in execution, and the missed tackles stat seems to back up his claims.
However, missed tackles can, to that point of execution, also be a result of poor effort, or poor skill. Is anyone accusing the highest-paid defense of being poor of effort or skill?
Tomlin and the coaching staff can certainly emphasize to their roster the importance of doing what they’re told, as if they were children, like one of his metaphors alluded to, but if you can’t tackle, you can’t tackle. And what happens when the guys who can’t tackle meet the guy who can’t be tackled?
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For what it’s worth, it’s not as though the Colts have been playing the worst tackling defenses in the NFL. Of the teams Indianapolis has faced this season, only the Titans, who they’ve already beaten twice, the Broncos, and the Raiders rank in the bottom half of the league in missed tackles.
That does account for half of their games, but Pittsburgh’s defense is the worst of the bunch. If Taylor can shake free for chunk plays, the Steelers and the fans in attendance will be in for another frustratingly long day at Acrisure Stadium.