Looking back, DeShon Elliott thinks he might have been too open about his concerns with how the Pittsburgh Steelers defense is playing.
But, the veteran safety also knows that being honest about his feelings after a 29-10 loss to Kansas City on Christmas Day — when he criticized the communication problems in the secondary, which shouldn’t be happening so late in the season for a unit that sees itself as one of the best — is part of who he is.
“It was out of emotion,” Elliott said Wednesday. “I love ball. Everyone knows that I love these guys. But we just have to get back to the drawing board.”
And they need to do it fast.
The confidence the Steelers (10-6) and the NFL’s highest-paid defense had in the first part of the season is gone after a three-game losing streak. The mistakes they’re making have cost them a shot at the AFC North title.
After Patrick Mahomes easily tore through their defense, throwing for 320 yards and three touchdowns, several players — including Elliott and outside linebacker Alex Highsmith — spoke out about different issues.
While Elliott wondered why the secondary was missing so many assignments, Highsmith questioned the “want-to” of some unnamed teammates.
Coach Mike Tomlin downplayed the players’ frustration, saying it was just the result of their passion. Maybe, but it also shows that the group is desperately looking for something to build on before the playoffs.
The mood in the locker room is clear. After T.J. Watt was named the team’s Most Valuable Player for a record fifth time on Wednesday, he spent most of his brief talk with reporters answering questions about how things went wrong so quickly.
When asked about the defense’s frustration, Watt didn’t say much.
“I think we’re all professionals, we’re all grown adults here,” he said. “We know that it’s all about channeling energy in the right way.”
If Pittsburgh wants to avoid another quick playoff exit, they have no choice but to improve. The Steelers are giving up more than 400 yards per game during their losing streak against tough teams — Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Kansas City — who, like Pittsburgh, are aiming to play well into January and beyond.
While the Eagles, Ravens, and Chiefs are finishing the season strong, the Steelers are not. The offense has also struggled — and it hasn’t helped that wide receiver George Pickens missed three weeks with a hamstring injury and didn’t do much in his return against Kansas City.
Pittsburgh’s best hope of being a real threat in the playoffs depends on a defense that creates turnovers and causes chaos. Right now, that’s not happening much.
The Steelers are tied with Minnesota and Buffalo for the most takeaways in the league (31), but they’re also at minus-2 in turnover ratio during a rough December that hasn’t shown they are ready to compete with the best teams.
And while Watt is still one of the best at rushing the passer, his 11 1/2 sacks this season are on track to be his fewest in a full season since his rookie year in 2017. This is a sign of a defense that will finish with its fewest sacks in a decade.
There are many reasons for this, from the attention Watt gets to Highsmith missing six games with injuries, to opposing offenses focusing on quick passes to avoid Pittsburgh’s pass rush.
Still, the Steelers were doing fine until they faced one of the toughest stretches any team has faced this year — 11 days against three division champions that exposed Pittsburgh’s weaknesses for everyone to see.
The way they lost — by two touchdowns or more, the worst stretch for the Steelers since the 1980s — set the stage for frustration, which was caught on camera and recorded.
“You prepare to win, and when you don’t win, things can get frustrat(ing), but we’ll be all right,” Elliott said. “We all love each other. It’s like when you argue with your brother. Eventually, you’ll hash it out and get on the same page.”
The sooner that “eventually” happens for Pittsburgh, the better. If it doesn’t happen by the second weekend of January, another season with three potential Hall of Famers on defense — from Watt to longtime captain Cam Heyward to safety Minkah Fitzpatrick — will have gone by without a playoff win.
Trying to find their confidence against the Bengals — who have won four straight games behind quarterback Joe Burrow — is going to be difficult. The Steelers now find themselves in a position where they really need to find an answer.
In response, the players requested an extra walkthrough on Wednesday, which is unusual for this time of year.
But they are in an unusual situation — a playoff team that doesn’t look like one right now — and they know it.
“Our guys give a (darn),” defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said. “And so to me that’s important and that’s an important thing to have. And that tells me that they want to get it right and they’re not satisfied with it going the way it is.”
