There are a lot of things to complain about regarding the Pittsburgh Steelers. Especially on defense, which was historically bad during the Steelers’ 26-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Former Steeler Chris Hoke thinks selfishness is the biggest issue that unit is facing after another ugly performance.
“They’ve got to be physical at the point of attack. They’ve got to be able to engage and disengage and get off blocks,” Hoke said Sunday on KDKA’s Nightly Sports Call. “There’s too many times we’re hearing ‘Guys gotta do their jobs, guys gotta be in the right place.’ There’s a lot of things coming out talking about how guys just want to make plays. They don’t want to be put in a box, they don’t want to be just a one-gap guy, they want to make plays. You’ve got to be unselfish to play the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense and to stop the run. If you’re selfish? You’re going to struggle defensively. That’s the Achilles heel for this team and this defense right now.”
Interestingly, Hoke isn’t the only one to call out the Steelers’ defense for being selfish this season. Trai Essex said the same thing about the defensive line back in October. That was after an ugly loss to the Bengals, in which the Steelers had no gap integrity and were gashed by the run.
You could say similar about this loss to Buffalo. The Bills had the most rushing yards an opponent at Heinz Field/Acrisure Stadium with 249. That was backed by James Cook III running the ball a whopping 32 times. A lot of them came on the same exact play.
That’s a ton of carries, but the Bills knew what was working. Nearly rushing for 250 yards is a clear sign that the Steelers had absolutely no answers. And Hoke isn’t wrong about the lack of gap integrity. This run from Cook is a good example.
There’s a lot not to like here. First, T.J. Watt is easily sealed off the edge. The play is a counter back to the right side, and Watt follows left before losing his gap. Instead of filling that gap behind Watt, Cole Holcomb bites inside as well and leaves the right side wide open for Cook. Capping it all, Payton Wilson flies way too far up field, which leaves the cutback open for Cook.
Of course, we don’t know the exact instructions here defensively. But there are three defenders who should have been in place to stop this play before it breaks open. Two chase to the inside and can’t get back for the counter. And one flies up the edge, leaving the right side wide open behind him. It’s a case of three players trying to make a play, and none of them ending up in the right spot.
There are plenty of issues defensively. And this is certainly one of them. The Steelers are chasing splash plays as a unit, and there have been a decent number of those this year. But in doing so Sunday, they left running lanes wide open all game. And that’s a problem that’s plagued them for most of the season.
The Steelers’ defense has had a few really impressive performances this year. But aside from those, it’s been consistently bad. Until the Steelers are more sound in these technical areas, it’s hard to see that slide ending anytime soon.