One thing Mike Tomlin stresses above almost anything else is the need to win the turnover battle. It often becomes a factor in the outcome of games, and it certainly had an impact in the Steelers’ 35-25 loss to the Green Bay Packers Sunday night. It’s now been quite a while since the Steelers forced a turnover, and they’ve lost their last two games during that stretch. Speaking after their second loss in a row, Patrick Queen explained how the Steelers can start coming away with more turnovers.
“I think we just got to hunt it. Hunt it more,” Queen said. “I think there’s opportunities there, I think when we have more of a level of comfort, and a sense of urgency pre-snap, I think post-snap will be better. That would lead to turnovers. I think guys in the right spot, guys flying to the ball, doing the things we do at a high level. Get back to doing that, and I think we’ll get the ball.”
The Steelers were able to force turnovers early in the season. That singlehandedly won them a game as they forced five in a win over New England, with two of them coming at the goal line. Then, they managed to intercept Carson Wentz twice in Dublin.
Since then, they hadn’t had a single takeaway. They had many chances against Cleveland but couldn’t take advantage and intercept Dillon Gabriel. They weren’t able to take the ball away against Cincinnati and didn’t really come close against the Packers. Even with the Steelers’ struggles, the ability to take the ball away had masked a lot of things and helped them win games. Especially in Week 3 against the Patriots.
When they’re not able to do so, the rest of the defense looks really ugly. Maybe a clutch turnover or two keeps some of the Packers’ points off the board. But they couldn’t come up with anything and gave up 35 points and 454 yards instead.
Patrick Queen and the defense’s struggles are clear as day, and it doesn’t get much easier in the near future. The 7-1 Indianapolis Colts come to town next week. Then, the Steelers have to fly across the country and face Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers the following week. Something has to change defensively, and the inability to create turnovers may be at the top of the list.
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