If there is any value to faith, the Steelers defense can sure use it right now, even as Payton Wilson and company fight on. Despite their happy thoughts, they remain very much grounded and are a far cry from Never Neverland. In each of the past two games, they have allowed 450-plus yards and 30-plus points.
But Wilson and the other on the Steelers’ defense still believe they have what it takes. Not just in the locker room, but on the coaching staff, and in the scheme. They might not be able to explain what’s wrong, but they can sure tell you they have to do better.
“I don’t know, I can’t really say. I do know that we have a ton of talent in this room—like, Super Bowl-championship talent”, Payton Wilson said of the defense, via the Steelers’ website. “We put it together sometimes, and sometimes we don’t. We’ve just got to find a way to put it together for the whole four quarters”. He added, “We have the talent year, we have the coaches here, so we’ve just got to execute”.
Outside of guys like Cam Heyward questioning the fight the Steelers showed on defense on Sunday, it does seem the players still believe in themselves. They seem convinced they can just “figure it out”, execute the right drills, and then be who they thought they were. It’s not that simple, of course, but it’s all they have.
“Yeah, always”, Wilson said when asked if he believes the Steelers still have confidence on defense. “I mean, if you’re losing that belief in Week 9, then you’re pretty screwed. We have some great leaders in here in Cam [Heyward], T.J. [Watt]. Obviously, on the offensive side of the ball, too. We just have to continue to work”.
Once the Steelers started facing adversity on defense on Sunday, everything just started to snowball. It seems the game got away from them, and there was even some admission from players to that effect. There’s no excusing that, but it is human nature to lose focus when things are falling apart around you.
But this is a far cry from where they thought they would be, that’s for sure. Going into the season talking about historic potential, they remain quite far from it. Right now, the Steelers rank 22 in points and 30th in yards on defense. They allow the second-most plays per drive, the second-most yards, and the third-most time. And the 10th-most points.
Despite talk of potential and easy fixes, the Steelers are where they are on defense. There is no magic cure beyond simply playing better, and perhaps coaching better. Now with DeShon Elliott likely out for the rest of the season, that is yet another obstacle. But if they’re tired of pushing the boulder of expectations up the hill, they only have themselves to blame.
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