It’s the leaky defense stupid.

NYT article correctly identifies that Tomlin’s leaky defense is the culprit for our woes. I have been saying this for years.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6571145/2025/08/27/steelers-dolphins-colts-jaguars-cardinals-nfl/

Even Julian Edelman mentioned this in an interview. ‘They do what they do.’ The defense was leaky even when they won the superbowl. If it weren’t for miracle catch and throw, they would have lost https://m.youtube.com/shorts/AvuEo8MYPUc

 

Just merely blaming it all on the Defense though is a strawman argument. There is a lot as to why Tomlin led Defenses literally break down in the playoffs. Biggest reason though since 2018 has been porous drafting.


Kevin Colberts drafts from 2018 to 2022 are a stain on an otherwise HOF Career. The most egregious examples have been Devin Bush, Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, Najee Harris, Kendrick Green, Kenny Pickett, George Pickens and DeMarvin Leal. None of these players panned out or didn't pan out in the end.


When a team whiffs so much and so often, the entire team as a whole is affected. IDL though has been a major problem for Pittsburgh since Tuitt retired. From 2021 to last season, that groups success squarely laid on the shoulders of Cameron Heyward; forcing him into the lineup far more than he should have been. 2023 was when the straw finally broke the camels back; Heyward being out for a good chunk of the season.



Now?! Thanks to both Weidl and Khan, the IDL group, on paper, is the strongest it has ever been in over a decade. Will that lead towards a better showing in the playoffs though remains to be seen. Benton in particular has to step it up this season. Otherwise, Pittsburgh will have to invest early in IDL yet again.

 

You are right to an extent. The Steelers are 1-14 without Watts in their lineup. He has given Tomlin his .500 years since Ben retired. Mason saved it in 2023. No team should be that reliant on a single player. Tomlin does this bend but don't break defense supposedly. The trouble is that by 4th quarter, and also come playoff time, the defense is so gassed that they are no longer effective. I also think part of Steeler problem is that they don't develop players. It shows up as bad drafting to a certain extent. Tomlin has no coaching tree. Tomlin = very overrated.

 

I think it is more of a whole team issue than anything as simple as Tomlin's defense. Bad coaching, Matt Canada, predictable play calling, offense failing to score points, offense failing to give the defense much of a rest, bad quarterbacks, bad drafting, bad oline, Matt Canada, prima donna players, immature players, bad leadership, that one offensive coordinator we had, blah blah blah. You can go on forever with things like that. You can overcome many of those things and even several of them at one time, but it is a big list and we haven't been able to overcome enough of them......imo.

 

I think the defense has generally been good enough. We have experienced some bad offenses since 2019 or 2020. It is hard to have a lock down defense in today’s NFL.

There are plenty of things that Tomlin should be criticized for, but defense isn’t at the top of that list. He has had some good defenses through the years, maybe not so much recently, but there are reasons for that (misses in the draft, Shazier, our lack of planning at inside linebacker, etc).

 

Offensive Line needs to improve, they get no push in the run game.

 

The whole concept of "keep the game close and win it in the 4th with a few splash plays" is what makes the D fall apart by the time they get to playoffs.

 

Couple of points:

when the offense consistently go 3 and out, the defense will eventually be leaky. We saw that throughout the Trubisky, Pickett, Fields, Wilson days.

Our defensive play calling is very generic. LeBeau would run these plays in the preseason in order to hide his plans for the regular season. Go back and watch games from back then and compare it to what we are seeing today. Yes personnel matters, but it’s frustrating how vanilla this defense is

 

When I read this $hit.....the 1st thing that comes to mind is some people don't even know what the hell they are looking at, and couldn't tell me a quarters zone from a Man zone blitz unless someone actually pointed it out to them during the game.
And again I ask if Tomlin was the only one running the D , then why have we changed playing style, plays called, and concepts every time we have changed DCs???

 

Since 2019, there has only been one year where we gave up more than 20 points per game (on average). We have an offense problem.

I hear you on the playoffs, but I think the offensive problems are magnified in the playoffs.

 

Don’t confuse him with facts

 

Re-read what I wrote:

• The whole concept of "keep the game close and win it in the 4th with a few splash plays" is what makes the D fall apart by the time they get to playoffs.

How is that any different than what you said??

In case you and that other idiot poster care about actual facts: in the last 6 straight playoff games they've played (and lost), the Steelers D has given up 36, 45, 48, 42, 31 and 28 points. Do you think that is not the same as "D fall apart by the time they get to playoffs"??

 

DAB.

 

I hate to confuse you with actual facts, but some of the scores you list include interceptions and fumbles returned for touchdowns. The defense wasn’t even on the field. In other cases, the defense was on a short field because of stupid turnovers by the offense.

 

So, somehow averaging 38.3 points against per game over a six game span happened not because the defense fell apart, but because the offense was soooo bad that the other teams averaged 38.3 points??

 

Damnit!!! I was going to post that @S.T.D is going to rip you a new one on this post and here you are beating me to a really hilarious post!

 

Offense.... particularly Oline has been the culprit for Steelers mediocrity. Defense has been good enough to win playoff games, IMO. It's simple....points have to be obtained.

 

I like the part where you stomp your feet while you post

 

Sort of this.


The Offensive Line does need to improve. However, Pat Meyer really needs to get it together this season. If not, he is not for long in this league.

 

As soon as I saw that Jacksonville game mentioned I had to stop reading.

I did enjoy Edelman

 

It is a myriad of issues.
Defense needs to get off the filed
The offense needs to control the ball
You need to splurge for the elite player now and then
You need to change up the coaching coordinators to keep things fresh
You need players that fit
You need to take a risk on some plays
You need a QB
etc.....

Obviously the string of non-losing seasons does mean something, unlike Baltimore pounding its chest over undefeated preseasons (how many Super Bowls has that produced)
But yes, things are running a little stale.

 

Didn’t like the facts, eh?

Seriously, do you have a crush on me? You act like a 9 year old boy who doesn’t know what to do with their feelings.

 

They’ve given up 38 points per game in the last 6 playoff losses. What makes that a good enough defense?

I do agree they need to score more points, and I said, they plan for close games, not high scoring ones.