The Pittsburgh Steelers had one of the best defenses in the NFL during the first half of the 2024 season. But the Steelers haven’t held an opponent below 300 yards since Week 10, and during the team’s 3-game losing streak, the Steelers have allowed an average of about 402 yards per contest.
After the team’s 29-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on December 25, captain Cameron Heyward voiced his frustration with the defense. While conveying his strong dissatisfaction, Heyward appeared to suggest, although not revealing a specific name, that one player is most responsible for the defense’s recent issues.
“When 10 guys do their job and one guy doesn’t, we are screwed,” Heyward said to the media, via Steelers insider Mark Kaboly.
On Christmas, an opponent had receivers running wide open against the Steelers secondary for the second straight game. The Chiefs gashed the Steelers pass defense for 8.4 yards per attempt and a total of 320 yards. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw 3 touchdowns.
The Steelers defense also didn’t have a takeaway for the first time since Week 4.
Cameron Heyward, DeShon Elliott Blast Steelers Defense
It’s possible that Heyward was speaking more generally and not calling out one specific player. Heyward appeared to make a more general comment after the loss on December 25 when he said the last three weeks that the Steelers have “played like [expletive].”
But other Steelers defenders also spoke out against their own unit and seemed to imply that there’s a particular spot that’s frustrating.
Veteran safety DeShon Elliott ripped into his team’s secondary.
“First off, guys can’t be [expletive] wide open. That’s the first thing. Just do your job,” Elliott told reporters, via The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Christopher Carter. “I thought we were communicating, [but] guys weren’t doing their frickin’ job.
“We’ll go back to the drawing board, but it’s Week 18. We shouldn’t be having these problems in Week 18. This is a Week 1, Week 2 problem.”
Elliott also said that the Chiefs “did what they were supposed to do” in terms of halftime adjustments while the Steelers didn’t.
What Elliott didn’t make clear, though, is whether the coaching staff didn’t attempt to make the proper adjustments or if one defender wasn’t able to execute those adjustments.
Patrick Queen Also Critical of Steelers Defense
Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen didn’t use NSFW language as Heyward and Elliott did. But he didn’t appear pleased with his defensive teammates either.
“We keep talking about it. Nobody is doing a thing about it,” Queen told reporters, via Kaboly. “If nobody does anything about what they are supposed to be doing then we don’t have any room for it.”
Queen added in a follow-up answer that the Steelers have been trying to address the problem he was referring to for two or three weeks. But the problem hasn’t been fixed.
“It is at a point where you realize it and go out there and play fast and play physical and do your job,” added Queen.
Kaboly interpreted Queen’s comments as pointing to one player in particular as the biggest issue.
If Heyward, Queen and Elliott are referring to one player, it will be interesting if he’s revealed. Fans will also be curious to see how the coaching staff responds if the problem proves to be one player.
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