Steelers News: DC Teryl Austin Shares CONCERNING Evaluation Of PIT’s Defense + Week 8 Injury Updates

Steelers News: DC Teryl Austin Shares CONCERNING Evaluation Of PIT’s Defense + Week 8 Injury Updates

Tonight on Steelers Talk, we have the latest week 8 injury updates here for you guys as the Pittsburgh Steelers prepare to take on the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football. Then Steelers defensive coordinator Terry Lost took the podium today and he said, “What about the Steelers defense?” I’m going to be reacting to that later in the show. And then we’ll finish up here with Cam Hayward and Darius Slay who both discussed the loss versus the Cincinnati Bengals on their respective podcast this week. So, I’m going to be reacting to what they had to say at the end of the show. So, you’re not going to want to miss that. But earlier today, guys, we did put out a video here on the channel where I break down my list of six players on the Steelers that I think should be getting more playing time and then also three players that I think should be getting less playing time. moving forward. So, make sure you check out that video from earlier. I’ll put the chip to that one in the top right of today’s show. And make sure you guys click uh click that subscribe button and join us here on Steelers Talk. We now have over 100,000 subscribers. We are the only Steelers news program on planet Earth, at least on YouTube that has uh 100,000 subscribers. So, make sure you guys click that subscribe button because we try to provide you guys in-depth contextualize um you know uh you very very in-depth content on the Pittsburgh Steelers um news and rumors content, injury updates, previews for every single game, postgame reactions. We try to give you guys at least two videos a day on this channel. So, if you guys want daily and free Commanders content that’s also entertaining, make sure you click that subscribe button and join the Steelers Talk family. So, we’ll start here with some injury updates here and a little bit a couple of concerning injuries popped up on the injury report this week here for the Pittsburgh Steelers. We’ll start with TJ Watt, the outside linebacker here, uh, who popped up with a hip injury. He did not practice yesterday or today. Um, and you know, or he didn’t practice yesterday. I believe he was a limited participant today, but you know, that’s certainly a little bit concerning. And maybe that means he might be on a little bit of a pitch count, especially because Terra Austin said today that they might be looking to get T Nick Herbig a little bit more playing time. Uh just something to keep your eye on there, but I don’t think that’s going to be anything that challenges TJ Watt’s ability to play on Sunday night. And then Zack Frasier, the starting center for the Pittsburgh Steelers, also popped up on the injury report today with a calf injury. He’s wearing a uh a sleeve on his leg. Apparently, he he had he had his calf tighten up uh in the game actually last Thursday versus the Cincinnati Bengals, and he says that it’s sore, but he’s probably going to be good to go. Brook Prior reported that here uh earlier today. Says Steelers center Zack Frasier said his calf injury happened on the second drive of the Bengals game. He said it feels quote unquote sore, but he thinks he’ll be okay. Uh but he has not been participating uh in these drills with his teammates over the first few practices of the week. We’ll be monitoring his status as the week goes on. But if I had to guess right now, I think both TJ Watt and Zack Frasier end up giving it a go on Sunday night. But now shifting over our focus to Green Bay where it sounds like Christian Watson who is uh hasn’t played all season to this point. Uh you know, he can’t coming off a very serious injury from last season. Sounds like he may make his season debut this Sunday here. Um playing against his former quarterback in Aaron Rodgers this weekend. Uh Watson said this when he was asked whether or not he’s going to play this week. He said, quote, “That’s my plan. My goal and my plan is to play this week.” And then head coach Matt Lafleur responded to those comments today by saying this. That’s a great mindset to have. I want all of our guys to have that mindset, but ultimately that’s going to be a medical decision. So, we’ll see if Christian Watson’s going to be able to give it a go. But if Watson’s uh optimism is any indication, I would say right now, I would guess that he probably plays on Sunday. But Matt Lafleur also confirmed today uh that Dantavian Wixs is unlikely to play this week with a calf injury. So that’s another receiver that’s down for the Green Bay Packers. They’re already going to be down. Jaden Reed, uh their number one guy in this offense when healthy. So, you know, losing Dantavian Wix, another bigger body kind of route runner guy, um is going to hurt them a little bit. So that means that the likely Green Bay wide receiver rotation for sure. Romeo Dobs and Matthew Golden, their rookie out of Texas are going to be uh the number one and number two uh for them this weekend. Christian Watson, we’ll see if he plays and if he does, I would say he’s probably going to be on a pitch count. Then you got Savon Williams and Malik Heath as some backup options. Savon is kind of their manufactured touch guy and Malik Keith has actually shown some pretty good things this year as well. So, I expect to see all five of these guys out there on the field on Sunday. And I’m sure it’s going to be a pretty healthy rotation as the night goes on. So, let me know the over or under for the Steelers defense this weekend. Do you think they give up over or under? 26 and a half points versus the Green Bay Packers this week. They gave up over 30 to Joe Flacco and the Cincinnati Bengals on the road last week on Thursday Night Football. Do you think they get them to under 27 in this ball game? Type O for over or you for under? Let me know what you guys think down there in the comment section. This is going to be the pin comment on today’s show. So, uh, in just a second here, I’m going to tell you about our sponsor today at Prize Pix. And while I tell you about today’s sponsor, get down there in the comments section and let me know over or under. With that, I have a word from our sponsor today at prize pickics. And you and I, we both make decisions every single day. But on prize picks, being right can actually get you paid. Don’t miss any of the excitement this season on prize picks where it’s good to be right. Football season is here and in full swing. And you better believe I’ll be getting my prize pick lineups in all season long. Prize Pix is super simple to play. Just pick more than or less than on two to six player stat projections. And if you get your picks right, you could cash in. Prize Pix also puts their users first, so all withdrawals are fast, safe, and secure. Price Pix also offers Venmo, Apple Pay, Mastercard, and more for quick and easy deposits into your account this football season. And a new feature from Prize Pix that I absolutely love is injury reboots. One of your players leaves the game in the first half and does not return. Prize picks will not count it as a loss. So for my lineup here for Vikings versus Chargers on Thursday Night Football this week, I’m taking the less on Justin Herbert, the more on Justin Jefferson receiving yards, and the more on rushing yards for Kamani Vidal. Download the app today and use code cls to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. That’s code CLNS to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. Prize picks, it’s good to be right. So today in the south side of Pittsburgh, DC terodium today to answer questions about kind of what went wrong versus the Cincinnati Bengals last week. I’m sure you know a lot of uh the reporters were very antsy to ask him some questions because there’s been a lot of criticism put on uh coach Austin over the last really several weeks as he has struggled to get this very talented and expensive defense to play the way that he wants them to play uh this season. And what Austin said, you know, and really the reason why and what he called the stem of the reason for why the defense has been inconsistent is because of the run defense. This is what uh Austin had to say about uh why this defense has been so inconsistent this year. I have a simple answer for you. We have to stop the run. It opens up so many things for the other teams when you can’t stop the run. Also, on top of that, Nick Farah from Penn Live tweeted this out. uh he was there present during the press conference. He said Austin said that he feels a lot of the struggles have been players who are who are not being assignment sound and are pushing to make splash play but the players have to trust each other so the run fits our sound. Um and you know I think that that is absolutely 100% correct. We’ve said that on this show. All right. I I’ve said uh over the last week or so I think the biggest issue with the Steelers run defense is that uh there’s too many heroes is the way that I put it is that people want to kind of you know abandon their run fit. try to make a big play in the back field and try and get a TFL and kind of, you know, be the guy that ends the drive, so to speak, for the other offense. But, you know, if you’re leaving your gap and then you’re not getting off blocks elsewhere, it’s going to create really, really big holes uh in the run fit and it’s going to create some really big opportunities for the opposing run game. And we saw that versus Chase Brown uh and the Cincinnati Bengals rushing offense. Uh, and I thought Cam Hayward, uh, the defensive tackle here and defensive captain for the Pittsburgh Steelers, put it pretty eloquently on his podcast this week where he described what’s going wrong with the Steelers run defense. He says, “I think it comes down to just trusting the defense. Sometimes you feel like you just got to make a play and sometimes it’s defeating your block first and then going on, not jumping out of your out of our gaps, not trying to anticipate something, just locking in on your assignment. If you start to see too much, you’ll see nothing. just focus in on your job and keying your guy. As a team, uh, you have to just buy into what the group is doing. Everyone’s always looking for that knockout TFL. Sometimes a one or two yard stop is money. And this is exactly that. I mean, almost verbatim what I have said on this channel. Um, you know, when I’ve been talking about the run defense and what’s going wrong here is that there’s just too many heroes. There’s too many people that want to make a big play when, you know, if you give up a one or two yard gain, maybe even a three yard gain, that is a very successful uh rushing defense snap in most scenarios, unless you know it’s a it’s a some sort of short yardage situation, right? So, um you know, I think we’ve seen this run defense play very well this year. You know, the first two weeks, uh without Derk Harmon out there and you know, they were kind of figuring things out and Pton Wilson wasn’t having a great time of it out there in run defense. You know, it wasn’t very good. But then through from weeks three through six, all right, outside of that Cincinnati Cincinnati game last week, I mean, for three straight games, they looked really, really good. And they were one of the higher performing rushing defenses in the entire National Football League. I mean, hell, they were first in EPA per rush allowed. Um, so we’ve certainly seen that this rushing defense can, you know, have success uh going up against even good run games. I mean, the Cleveland Browns and Quinn Sean Judkins are beating everybody right now on the ground except for the Pittsburgh Steelers in week six. And in the end here, guys, I think the run defense isn’t what concerns me the most. Okay? And the fact that to the fact that Austin says that that is the root of the problems with this defense um concerns me a little bit because I actually think the biggest concern and I think that the most consistent concern that has been there not just over you know last week or you know the first two weeks of the season but all season has been the Steelers secondary and obviously you didn’t have Joey Porter Jr. for a number of weeks there but even with Joey Porter Jr. on the field for the entire game last week, you get absolutely ripped uh versus Jamar Chase and the Cincinnati Bengals passing attack. And that has been a very consistent theme for the Steelers defense this year and why this unit currently ranks uh in the bottom half of the league among most defensive uh stat categories. So, this is what Austin had to say about the quarterbacks today. Um he did address it and he said, quote, “We all thought we’d be better at quarterback at this point, but I know these guys are pros and will bounce back.” back. And this kind of echoes what Mike Tomlin said earlier this week about the quarterbacks saying this. Our quarterback certainly hasn’t met our vision to this point, but I’m not discouraged. We got good people there, good players, good people, guys that got good relationships with the game. So, we’re just going to keep working. Now, my question to Tomlin and Austin here are are they not discouraged and do they feel like they’ll bounce back because, you know, they think that they’re going to execute their kind of manheavier style system better or are they going to, you know, switch up some things? Are they going to change their vision for what this defense is going to look like in order for uh this defense to have more success in the passing game, at least defending the run on this side of the ball? And I’m really hoping it’s the latter because I mean we’ve seen now six games of this passing defense really struggle even against Justin Fields and the Jets offense and they’ve stunk against everybody else so far this season. All right. So obviously there’s something that you are asking your personnel to do that they are not doing very well. And the case that I’ve made uh on this channel is that they’re playing too much man coverage. Jaylen Ramsey and Darius Slay are much better with their eyes on the quarterback where they’re allowed to play instinctually and uh you know use their instincts to be able to you know close throwing windows and get to the football and do all those things that we know that they can do. But if you play man-to-man, you know, that’s a that’s a very physical, you know, kind of traitsbased kind of success or fail failure kind of system. And I just don’t know if those guys have the gas in the tank to go up against the Jackson Smith and Jigbas of the world and the Justin Jeffersons of the world and the Jamar Chases of the world and the Garrett Wilsons of the world in one-on-one coverage. And I think that we’ve seen that throughout the season with those guys consistently losing in those one-on-one matchups. Now, uh, also Nick Farah tweeted this out about something that Austin said, um, specifically about his his play calling strategy in last week’s game versus Cincinnati. He said, “Terrell Austin says the two explosive runs by Chase Brown totally changed the way he called the game and shrunk their menu on the back end to deal with the Bengals run game.” Now, my read on that is that Austin pretty much panicked. All right, he abandoned a game plan that was working for the first two drives. Remember the Steelers stopped the Cincinnati Bengals for two straight drives to start that football game and you know they were doing pretty good and then you know okay there’s a couple of bad reps in there in run defense but like you completely throw that game plan in the trash and you you you kind of have a more condensed kind of menu uh is what he called it of coverages that you run for the rest of the game and then you allow Jamar Chase to just kill you on those coverages the rest of the game. I mean, this just strikes me as Terrell Austin got spooked and he got rattled and, you know, he was living in his fears and he decided to play more conservatively and not play as aggressively as they did in the first two drives because you give up a couple of explosive runs. It’s like, how about we just plug up the run instead of, you know, completely changing our defensive game plan, which makes it a lot easier on Jamar Chase, Joe Flacco, and company uh to completely just run the ball down your throats and pass the ball down your throats all game long from that point forward. It just makes doesn’t make any sense, man. And for me, that’s the definition of playing in your fears. All right? You can’t let a couple of bad plays negate the game plan that you spent all week trying to prepare for and was working before those two bad plays. All right. For me, um I I don’t think that that was a good adjustment by Tara Lost. And to me, that that projects kind of an aura of weakness from the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coaching staff. So, make sure you guys click that thumbs up icon if you haven’t already. If you think Tara Austin needs to do a better job, I certainly think that he does. All right, listen. I I’m willing to defend these guys on some of the kind of points that are being made about this defense on on social media. You guys know that I have uh you know called out some of that BS stuff that is being thrown out there in terms of the narratives, but I’m also certainly willing to to call these guys out when they’re not doing the proper things. I think that, you know, you know, changing up your defensive game plan after two explosive runs, um, I think that that certainly bears some criticism there and I certainly think with the start of this season, uh, this defense needs to play a lot better and Austin needs to do a lot better as the play caller. Now, to finish up today’s show, we’ll talk about what Darius Slay had to say on the Richard Sherman podcast, uh, where he said that Tomlin wasn’t sugarcoating nothing this week. All right. So, if you’re somebody that thinks that Tomlin is just okay with the way that they played uh on Thursday Night Football last week, well, think again, man. Cuz apparently uh he was he wasn’t holding anything back in the team meetings over the last several days. This is what Slay had to say. You know, Mike T straightforward. Ain’t too much positive. Only thing positive to come out of this is a learning experience of what we need to do better. We had a little meeting. One thing about Mike T, man, what I appreciate, he thorough. He thorough now. He’s going to tell you what it is. He ain’t going to sugarcoat nothing. So, you know, Mike Tomlin is somebody that doesn’t blast players in the media, and that’s something that I really appreciate him uh for. But, you know, those closed door meetings in the meeting room, I’m I bet he is ripping people apart for some of the bad that they were doing uh on film versus the Cincinnati Bengals and challenging those guys to play better. All right. We we’ve heard a bunch of times about the miscommunication issues and I’m I’m guessing Mike Tomlin, you know, is fed up with those things just like we are and he was letting them have it in those team meetings. And by the way, that’s exactly the way that he should be addressing this uh because it’s not good enough. And I think we all agree with that and I think the first person that would tell you that is the head coach of this football team. So that’s what I appreciate about Mike Tomlin. He doesn’t accept stuff like this. All right. But on the other hand there, you have to switch some things up. You got to find the right pieces to the puzzle to figure out how to play this defense correctly because clearly your vision for this defense and especially how how you were going to utilize this secondary isn’t working out. So, you got to find some solutions. So, it’s one thing to not accept the result and to, you know, hold people accountable in the meeting room, but it’s another thing to kind of adjust your schematics and be able to come out with a better game plan moving forward. And I guess we’ll have to see if Tomlin and Austin do that in the weeks to come. And if he can’t do that, and we’re talking about at the end of the season, this team went nine and eight, missed the playoffs, because the offense was good, but the defense with the most expensive defense in the league with a defensive head coach was the reason why that this team didn’t make the playoffs or that they drastically underperformed. I’m sorry, man. Like, that’s going to be the last straw for me personally. Like, I I I’ll want to trade Mike Tomlin at the end of the season if that ends up happening. Especially because you can get a first round pick in exchange for Tomlin. All right. So, like I’m going to be willing to give him the rest of the season. All right. I think that he’s a really good locker room manager and organizational manager, and that’s the number one job of an NFL head coach, but as somebody that is in charge of defensive game planning week in and week out, it’s also your responsibility to put the right pieces to fit the puzzle. All right? and figure out how to get this defense, especially with that how much money we’re spending on that side of the ball. Figure out how this defense can play better and honestly play up to the standard that the money that they’re making uh has really set or has really set. So, what’s you guys? Let me know down there in the comments section. What is your confidence level in Mike Tomlin and Terara Lost to figure this thing out before the end of the season and get this team playing like a top 10 unit? Put it on a scale of 1 to 10 for me down there in the comments section. One meaning not at all. They’re absolutely terrible. this this this season is doomed to 10 being uh these guys are really good. They’re going to be able to figure it out. I have all the confidence in the world in these two men. That’ll be it for today’s edition of Steelers News and Rumors. Thank you guys so much for stopping by here this evening. I’ll have more Steelers coverage for you guys tomorrow early on in the day. So, make sure you click that subscribe button if you haven’t already. Until next time, guys. Here we go. Steelers.

Pittsburgh Steelers news on Thursday, October 23rd, centers around the latest Steelers injury news & comments from Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin on the state of the Steelers defense this year. Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/CLNS and use code CLNS and get $50 in lineups when you play your first $5 lineup!

On tonight’s edition of Steelers Talk by Chat Sports, host Jack Sperry reacts to the latest Steelers injury updates on key players such as T.J. Watt and Zach Fraizer as well as Christian Watson and Dontayvion Wicks for the Packers. Also, Jack breaks down the concerning comments from Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin today on the state of the Pittsburgh Steelers defense after an underwhelming first 6 games to their 2025 campaign, as well as what veteran Steelers defenders Cam Heyward and Darius Slay have said this week on their respective podcasts regarding last week’s tough performance vs. the Cincinnati Bengals.

Whenever Steelers breaking news hits, Jack is going to get a video out to you guys no matter what (even on his off days)! Hit that sub button for more Steelers rumors: https://www.youtube.com/SteelersTV?sub_confirmation=1

Green Bay Packers’ WR Rotation
– Romeo Doubs (WR1)
– Matthew Golden (WR2)
– Christian Watson (ROT)
– Savion Williams (ROT)
– Malik Heath (ROT)

Nick Farabaugh (@FarabaughFB) on Chase Brown via X;
“Teryl Austin says the two explosive runs by Chase Brown totally changed the way he called the game and shrunk their menu on the back end to deal with the Bengals run game.”

Set your notifications to ‘ALL’ to never miss a video from Steelers Talk!

Check out more Steelers football content on YouTube with some of our latest videos:
– 6 Steelers Players That Should Be Playing MORE Than They Are (+ 3 That Should Be Playing LESS) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTzkkdu28X0
– Steelers Rumors: NFL Insider SPILLS THE BEANS On PIT’s Trade Deadline Plans + Another Year Of A-Rod? – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4vJy186lDs
– UPDATED Steelers WR Targets: 15 REALISTIC Options For PIT To Consider Before The Trade Deadline – https://youtu.be/4n-vk8BVh7U

Be in the know about the latest NFL, NBA, and college football news by following @chatsports on social media and subscribing to our YouTube channel:
– Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chatsports
– X: https://x.com/ChatSports
– Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chatsports

Cam Heyward (On PIT’s Run Defense)
“I think it comes down to just trusting the defense. Sometimes you feel like you just gotta make a play, and sometimes it’s defeating your block first, and then going on. Not jumping out of our gaps, not trying to anticipate something…”

The Real One’s know that liking today’s video is the easiest way to help out the channel!

NEVER miss a Steelers news story this year by giving host Jack Sperry a follow on X: https://x.com/jack_sperry

Do you know ball? PROVE IT in the comments section!
– Will PIT give up over or under 26.5 points vs. GB this week?
Type ‘O’ for Over, Type ‘U’ for Under
– Confidence level in Tomlin & Austin to figure it out? Scale of 1-10

Share today’s video with a friend you think will enjoy our content to help us grow our family here at Steelers Talk!

Follow the latest Steelers rumors & news on the Chat Sports Pittsburgh Steelers website: https://www.chatsports.com/pittsburgh-steelers

#Steelers #SteelersNews #SteelersRumors #CSPP2025 #ad #CSB