Mike Tomlin expected the Pittsburgh Steelers to be historic defensively. What he didn’t expect is them to be historically bad. For two straight weeks, the Steelers have allowed at least 30 points and 400 total yards to their opponent and beat writer Mark Kaboly is running out of answers.
“I think you start with the secondary. It’s bad. And the way I look at it, there’s no answer,” Kaboly said Monday on 93.7 The Fan. “There’s no magic potion that Omar Khan’s gonna find at the trade deadline next Tuesday to help this out. You’re getting worse because DeShon Elliott’s likely out for the season.”
The lack of depth at receiver has stolen most of the headlines when it comes to the trade deadline. While you could argue for bringing in another playmaker, the defense seems to be the Steelers’ glaring weakness right now. The secondary is playing poorly across the board, and Kaboly is right that it’s going to be hard to find a solution. It’s rare to see teams move on from high-level defensive backs in the middle of the season. The Steelers would have to find a rebuilding team and probably part with some of their 2026 draft capital.
Yet there aren’t many in-house solutions. Players like Beanie Bishop Jr. and Cory Trice Jr. could maybe help, but the scheme seems to be just as much of an issue as anything else. Playing mostly Cover 3 and man-to-man, the Steelers’ defense is way too predictable. The lack of adjustments was evident Sunday night as well. The Packers came out of halftime a completely different team. And the Steelers were unable to adapt.
For Kaboly, part of the frustration has to do with how easy the Steelers are making it for other teams.
“Last week it was the slants. This week to the flat. Mike Tomlin says after the game, ‘Yeah I’m not worried about the throws to the flats’. You literally wear a shirt that says don’t get beat to the flat. What are we doing here?” Kaboly said.
When the Steelers don’t disguise anything in single-high man-to-man, they make it very easy for the quarterback to simply find a matchup he likes. The Packers beat the Steelers on a handful of pick plays and rub routes, concepts that can consistently beat man coverage. It also doesn’t help when the execution is just bad, like it was on Tucker Kraft’s second touchdown.
Maybe Omar Khan can work some magic at the deadline. But it’s hard to feel too confident in the Steelers’ evaluation of the talent they’re bringing in anyways. There’s been success, but most of their offseason acquisitions haven’t been consistent enough. Khan deserves credit for his effort to turn the team into a contender. But for whatever reason, it’s not coming together on the field.
The biggest improvement the Steelers can make is to simply execute better, but of course that’s easier said than done. With the lack of changes week to week and the same issues popping up again defensively, it’s hard to take this team seriously until we see something different.
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