There's no doubt that the Pittsburgh Steelers struggled against the Kansas City Chiefs at their home stadium on Christmas Day. In fact, the Steelers have now lost three straight matches, all of which took place in an 11-day span. Pittsburgh, with a 10-6 record, currently sits at the AFC's fifth seed and falls to second place in the AFC North after their latest loss. The Steelers have struggled in every aspect of the game, but their defensive issues are beginning to become even more concerning.
On Wednesday, Patrick Mahomes played a near perfect game against the Steelers, throwing for over 300 yards, three touchdowns, no turnovers, and no sacks taken. Mahomes had a passer rating over 127.1 and connected with eight different receivers. Joey Porter Jr. was unable to suit up with a banged up knee, so the defensive backs were extremely vulnerable. Most of, if not all of Pittsburgh's cornerbacks, struggled against Mahomes and the Kansas City offense, except for Cory Trice Jr. Trice earned the second highest Pro Football Focus grade for the entire team on Wednesday, behind Cameron Heyward.
On Thursday, Chuck Pagano, a former NFL head coach, was on The Pat McAfee Show and went in on Pittsburgh's cornerbacks. The show discussed Pittsburgh's defensive issues, and Pagano made it very clear that the Steelers are going to need Porter to make a quick return before their final game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
"You better get some guys healthy," Pagano said. "You better get Porter back in the lineup. Because 42 [James Pierre] out there, like, no sir," as the crew laughed. "And then 26 [Donte Jackson] let Justin Watson run right by him for a deep ball. And then Beanie Bishop, all he did was take away the ball when he's in their playing nickel. You've gotta get some guys back."
Donte Jackson, Pittsburgh's number two corner behind Porter, has had some real struggles lately. Part of that could be playing through injuries as most players are during this time of the season, and part of it could be the absences of other key defensive backs. Regardless, Jackson and the other corners did not play well against the Chiefs. While he wouldn't typically get as much playing time, James Pierre has been getting a ton of snaps at corner and had to fill in on the outside for Porter against Kansas City.
With Pittsburgh's next and final regular season matchup featuring arguably the league's best wide receiver duo in Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, Pittsburgh's cornerbacks are going to have to figure it out.
Whether it's coaching or player execution, both parties within the organization have to get on the same page. Not only is Pittsburgh's defense struggling, but the offense has significantly slowed down during this brutal three-game stretch. With the offense not being able to score a lot of points, the team relies on the defense to make significant plays and get stops. If the defensive woes continue, this franchise will once again be a one-and-done team in the postseason.
Steelers' Defensive Leaders Very Upset With Recent Performances
Heyward, TJ Watt , Alex Highsmith and DeShon Elliott, are all key leaders on the Steelers' defense, but none of them have had anything good to say about this team since their last victory. Pittsburgh's leaders on defense were very displeased with the way the team played in front of their home crowd on Christmas Day, in a game where there was a playoff-esque atmosphere.
Both the offense and defense need to step up in big ways moving forward this season. After the game, Highsmith told Pittsburgh reporters that they only have two guaranteed games left, and they better make the most out of them.
