While the Steelers have won their last two games, DeShon Elliott still isn’t getting quite what he wants from this team. After turning a blowout into a nail-biter in Dublin, he knows the Steelers have to do better closing games. That’s what he wants Pittsburgh to work on, and with a tougher schedule late in the year, it better.
“I think we showed how great we can be, but we also showed we’ve got to be more consistent,”, Elliott said, via Mike DeFabo of The Athletic. “The fact we played 2.5 quarters is not Steelers football. We’ve got to get better. Once we are up, we’ve got to know how to put our foot on people’s necks”.
The Steelers held a 15-point lead going into the fourth quarter last Sunday, which they extended to 18. Then the defense allowed 15 unanswered Vikings points and started leaking. Minnesota ended up churning out 372 net yards, and while the Steelers got DeShon Elliott back for the game, they lost others along the way.
Each of Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay, and Brandin Echols missed time last Sunday. Some returned, some briefly, but it meant a lot of mixing and matching. Not that Elliott wants the excuses, but the combinations of players unfamiliar with working with one another strained communications networks.
Of course, sometimes it’s just somebody making—or finishing—a play. James Pierre nearly called game with an interception with a minute to play. Although he didn’t finish the play, he still deserves credit. He jumped the route and made a play on the ball, even though he ended up double-catching it. Elliott, on the other hand, had a sack, a forced fumble, and an interception.
The Steelers struggled to put together complete games last year, and Elliott was a part of that. He doesn’t want the same thing to happen to this team with all of its potential. The Steelers have the players, they believe, on both sides of the ball to really make something happen.
Earlier this week, DC Teryl Austin said he’s not overly concerned with how many yards the Steelers give up. Elliott wants to do less bending, but I’m sure he would agree what matters most is that they don’t break. But the bottom line is, if you have a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter, the game shouldn’t come down to the final snap. The Steelers let that happen against the Vikings, and they need to figure out how to prevent it over the bye.
Recommended for you