Juan Thornhill’s August prediction that the Steelers could have one of history’s great defenses isn’t looking great, but he still believes in the unit. Coming off an ugly game against the Bengals last Thursday, he says they’re not far from playing to their talents. Rather than play-in, play-out issues, he sees it as the occasional creeping mistake.
Asked how close the defense is to playing well with clean communication, He said, “A couple plays away”, via the Steelers’ website. “It’s that simple. Literally a couple plays away. We [can] eliminate the small, little mistakes that we had. But other than that, we’ll be good”.
Last week, the Steelers gave up 33 points and 470 yards on defense. Handed a lead with 2:21 to play, they couldn’t hold it. While there is ample room to distribute blame, their vaunted cornerbacks couldn’t hang with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
Not that they have been great for most of the season. In the first four weeks, the Steelers allowed at least 369 yards on defense every game. Twice they allowed more than 30 points, with at least 21 in three of the four. The Browns game coming out of the bye week now appears to be an illusion, taking advantage of an inexperienced rookie quarterback. That game, the Steelers held the Browns to just nine points and 248 yards. That’s the kind of defense they expected to play against everybody, every week, but they’re far from it. And they’ve been far from it since Week 1, against a quarterback on the verge of benching.
The Steelers rebuilt the defense in numerous ways this offseason, on almost every level. The only level that didn’t change drastically is at linebacker, even if they did part with ILB Elandon Robert. Up front, they cut Larry Ogunjobi and Montravius Adams and drafted Derrick Harmon and Yahya Black. In the secondary, they made wholesale changes, trading Minkah Fitzpatrick, adding Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay.
And what has it gotten them so far? Not much. A string of splash plays, but when the Steelers don’t have them on defense, they lack the play-to-play consistency to hold up. And right now, they also lack the discipline to focus on their assignments.
Of course, we’re still working with small sample sizes amid a shifting schedule. The Steelers played the Browns coming off a bye, at home, and the defense dominated. Then they played the Bengals, on the road, on a short week, a scenario under which they are historically poor. Sunday’s game against the Packers could be more revealing about where they really are. And how far they need to go.
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