Once again, the tackling for the Pittsburgh Steelers wasn’t all that good, but fortunately, it didn’t matter as the defense made enough plays and rolled to a 34-12 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
For the sixth straight week, the Steelers missed double-digit tackles, but this time they were able to limit the damage after the missed tackles and took the football away multiple times, leading to two defensive scores.
Still, there’s some concern with the tackling issues in recent weeks. It must get cleaned up, or it will haunt them late in the season.
Let’s check out this week’s missed tackles report.
TOTAL MISSED TACKLES VS. BENGALS — 12
Payton Wilson – 2
Brandin Echols – 2
Malik Harrison – 2
T.J. Watt – 2
Joey Porter Jr. – 1
Kyle Dugger – 1
Chuck Clark – 1
James Pierre – 1
TOTAL MISSED TACKLES THROUGH 11 WEEKS (10 GAMES) — 102 (10.2 PER GAME)
Patrick Queen — 18 (one on missed sack) (78 tackles on 96 total attempts, 18.8% miss rate)
Darius Slay – 8 (35 tackles on 43 total attempts, 18.6% miss rate)
Payton Wilson – 7 (one on missed sack) (84 tackles on 91 total attempts, 7.7% miss rate)
Nick Herbig — 6 (two on special teams) (24 tackles on 30 total attempts, 20% miss rate)
Brandin Echols — 6 (one on special teams) (35 tackles on 41 total attempts, 14.6% miss rate)
Chuck Clark — 6 (38 tackles on 44 total attempts, 13.6% miss rate)
T.J. Watt – 5 (38 tackles on 43 total attempts, 11.6% miss rate)
Malik Harrison – 5 (one on special teams) (13 tackles on 18 total attempts, 27.7% miss rate)
Joey Porter Jr. — 5 (25 tackles on 30 total attempts, 16.6% miss rate)
Juan Thornhill — 5 (38 tackles on 43 total attempts, 11.6% miss rate)
Keeanu Benton — 4 (29 tackles on 33 total attempts, 12.1% miss rate)
DeShon Elliott — 3 (38 tackles on 41 total attempts, 7.3% miss rate)
Cole Holcomb — 3 (26 tackles on 29 total attempts, 10.3% miss rate)
Jack Sawyer — 3 (all on special teams) (18 tackles on 21 total attempts, 14.3% miss rate)
James Pierre — 3 (17 tackles on 20 total attempts, 15% miss rate)
Kyle Dugger – 2 (12 tackles on 14 total attempts, 14.3% miss rate)
Jalen Ramsey — 2 (51 tackles on 53 total attempts, 3.8% miss rate)
Yahya Black – 2 (one on missed sack) (10 tackles on 12 total attempts, 16.6% miss rate)
Derrick Harmon — 2 (missed sack) (18 tackles on 20 total attempts, 10% miss rate)
Alex Highsmith – 2 (24 tackles on 26 total attempts, 7.7% miss rate)
Ben Skowronek – 1 (special teams) (12 tackles on 13 total attempts, 7.7% miss rate)
Miles Killebrew – 1 (special teams) (four tackles on five total attempts, 20% miss rate)
Daniel Ekuale — 1 (six tackles on seven total attempts, 14.3% miss rate)
Jabrill Peppers — 1 (11 tackles on 12 total attempts, 8.3% miss rate)
Although the Steelers still missed 12 tackles, marking the sixth straight game they’ve been in double figures in the missed tackles department, the tackling didn’t feel as messy Sunday at Acrisure Stadium as it has in recent weeks.
Make no mistake, though: 12 missed tackles is not good enough and could really hurt them in the postseason. They have to clean this up and return to a performance like they had in Dublin rather than what they’ve done in recent weeks.
One problem I’ve noticed is that some missed tackles occur while they’re trying to punch the ball out. This is particularly true for defensive backs.
Joey Porter Jr. had that issue on one of Chase Brown’s early long runs.
He’s punching at the ball here, rather than trying to wrap up and get the guy on the ground to put an end to the long run. I appreciate the turnover culture the Steelers have, always hunting for the football. But as head coach Mike Tomlin talked about last week, there’s a time and a place to hunt for the ball.
Porter’s punching here wasn’t done at the right time or in the right place. As he punches, he doesn’t try to wrap up, grasping at Brown’s shirt instead. That punch attempt and failure to get Brown on the ground cost the Steelers another 20 yards on the run. That’s unacceptable.
Fellow CB James Pierre did it later in the game, too.
Again, you’re the first one there and are in a position to make the tackle. Don’t go for the punch first. Make sure you’re getting the guy on the ground. While Pierre punches the football, Brandin Echols comes in with his shoulder, not attempting to wrap up.
He’s not going to knock down tight end Noah Fant with a shoulder blow. Couple that with the failed punch attempt from Pierre, and Fant easily steps out of the tackling attempts, gaining another five yards.
Since returning to the lineup, inside linebacker Malik Harrison has struggled in the tackling department. He’s now up to a team-high 27.7% missed tackles rate on the season, and had two more on Sunday.
He has to finish better here.
He does everything right initially in his drop and gets square to Brown out of the backfield. But then he doesn’t bring his feet with him as he attempts to tackle, causing him to leave his feet and go all arms on the tackle attempt.
That’s not good enough against a running back like Brown, who gets out of the tackle. Fortunately, the Steelers are there to clean it up, particularly reserve defensive lineman Esezi Otomewo, who has some great hustle here to run to the ball and finish.
Lastly, inside linebacker Payton Wilson and safety Chuck Clark combined to miss a tackle on another short throw to a tight end.
Wilson has been outstanding all year in the tackling department. There’s a reason he has just a 7.7% miss rate on the season. When he gets to the ball carrier, he typically gets them on the ground.
He just flat-out missed here, failing to finish the rep and get tight end Tanner Hudson on the ground. Pretty poor job here by Clark, too, who comes in with just a shoulder. That’s not going to play well in the team’s film session.
While the defense missed 12 tackles on the afternoon, the Steelers’ offense had a field day forcing missed tackles against a bad Bengals defense. Pittsburgh forced 16 misses on the afternoon, winning the all-important tackles battle within the game by a mark of +4. That improves the Steelers to 7-3 on the season in the tackles battle.
TOTAL FORCED MISSED TACKLES VS. BENGALS — 16
Jaylen Warren – 6
Kenneth Gainwell – 4
Darnell Washington – 3
Kaleb Johnson – 1
Pat Freiermuth – 1
DK Metcalf – 1
TOTAL FORCED MISSED TACKLES THROUGH 11 WEEKS (10 GAMES) — 113 (11.3 PER GAME)
Jaylen Warren – 49
Kenneth Gainwell – 23 (two on special teams)
Jonnu Smith – 8
DK Metcalf – 6
Kaleb Johnson – 5 (two on special teams)
Ke’Shawn Williams — 5 (special teams)
Darnell Washington — 5
Pat Freiermuth — 4
Trey Sermon — 2 (special teams)
Calvin Austin III — 2
Scotty Miller — 1
Jaylen Warren was once again outstanding with the football in his hands. He excels at creating yards after contact, and that’s a big component of the Steelers’ offense this season.
Warren recorded six forced missed tackles Sunday against the Bengals. But backup running back Kenneth Gainwell and tight end Darnell Washington stole the show in the forced missed tackles department.
Gainwell was outstanding as a receiving back, creating plays with the football in his hands. His most impressive forced missed tackle came on his second touchdown of the game.
Impressive power there from Gainwell to shrug off the high tackle attempt and still walk into the end zone.
Not a great throw from Mason Rudolph, especially with all that time and space he had. Gainwell made a nice adjustment and then showed off his contact balance and strength to shrug off Bengals linebacker Oren Burks and get into the end zone. It capped off an impressive day.
Then, there’s Washington, who is on highlight reels everywhere thanks to his 31-yard rumble.
It’s truly hilarious to watch. A man of that size shouldn’t move like that, yet Washington does. A violent stiff arm to rookie Bengals linebacker Barrett Carter started it.
Then, he runs through a tackle attempt from safety Geno Stone before punishing cornerback DJ Turner II at the end of the run, sending him flying. He’s going to win Good Morning Football’s Angry Runs segment this week from Kyle Brandt; there’s no doubt in my mind.
What a play from Washington.
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