Steelers' Most Important Defensive Issue Revealed Ahead Of Clash With Chiefs

The Pittsburgh Steelers have not looked like their usual selves on the defensive side over the past few weeks. The Steelers' defensive unit was utterly dominant throughout the first 11 weeks of the regular season, but some major injuries have taken their performance down a step. Ever since the loss to the Cleveland Browns in the snowstorm, Teryl Austin's defense has looked extremely concerning. The Steelers have now lost back-to-back weeks after reaching a comfortable AFC North lead with a 10-3 record. 

Through the first 10 games of the season, Austin's defense was only allowing about 16.2 points per game. Since the loss in Cleveland, that number has jumped to a concerning 27.4 points per game. A key aspect to the Steelers' success on defense has been their ability to force turnovers. The Steelers lead the entire NFL in takeaways with 31, including 12 in the last five games. Despite their ability to create turnovers, the defense has not played nearly as well as earlier in the season. 

In both of their losses to the Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles, the defense allowed over 400 yards of total offense. Also, in each loss, the Steelers allowed three offensive touchdowns by their opponents and haven't been able to force as many field goal attempts. Chris Carter and Ray Fittipaldo with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette talked about Pittsburgh's defensive struggles, and Fittipaldo pointed out that the team may have become too reliant on their ability to create turnovers. 

"What are they doing well right now? They're not stopping the run, as we saw against the Ravens," Fittipaldo explained to Carter. "They're not stopping the pass well, AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith just torched them a week ago. Lamar Jackson threw three touchdowns on them."

Two weeks ago, Philadelphia's wide receiver duo combined for 219 yards on 19 catches and two touchdowns. In their last outing against the Ravens, Derrick Henry rushed for 162 yards, the most the Steelers have allowed by anyone all season. 

"This is a team that is highly dependent on turnovers," Fittipaldo continued. "Teryl Austin said last week or a couple of weeks ago, I forget when, that that's part of how they scheme their defense. They count on turnovers. But, Chris, when they don't come, when you don't fall on the football, they're not doing anything well enough to offset that. To me, they've become way too highly dependent on turnovers."

While Minkah Fitzpatrick was finally able to record an interception in Baltimore, the Steelers had other opportunities where the Ravens put the ball on the ground. Pittsburgh was unable to take advantage of any of the fumbles by Baltimore, and that told the story of the game. 

The defensive struggles for Pittsburgh puts the organization in a much tougher spot to finish the regular season. The Steelers are essentially tied for first place in the division with Baltimore, but technically hold first place due to a better conference record. All fingers point to the Steelers needing to win their final two games to secure the division title, but this defense is going to have to deal with the Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals.

As Fittipaldo highlighted, the Steelers are going to have to get back to limiting opposing offense's total yards and touchdowns, as opposed to focusing on taking the ball away. Another key factor to the defense's recent struggles is their number of starters being sidelined with injuries. The Steelers are currently without their top two cornerbacks, and safety DeShon Elliott's absence has been crucial. The Steelers are going to need some of their reliable defensive backs to return on Christmas if they want any shot at taking down the defending back-to-back Super Bowl champions. 

Steelers' TJ Watt Going To Have To Provide More Pressure On Chiefs' Offense 

Though he was playing through an injury with a banged up ankle, TJ Watt was unable to make a huge impact in their loss to the Ravens. Watt finished the game with just four total tackles and only one of those being a solo tackle. For the Steelers to have success against the Chiefs defensively, the front seven are going to need to put Patrick Mahomes under a lot of pressure. With the possibility of the Steelers being without their top two corners, the defensive line must have a huge game on their home turf. 

If the Steelers are unable to make an adjustment defensively, their Christmas Day will absolutely get ruined by Mahomes and the Chiefs. Austin and his defense have to clean up their tackling and execute the fundamentals. The Steelers have not been fundamentally sound over the past few weeks, and it's cost them. 

What do you think about Pittsburgh's defense of late? How can they come together and figure out a way to contain Mahomes? Let us know in the comments below.

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