The Pittsburgh Steelers were outmatched in their latest game with the Dallas Cowboys, which they lost by a score of 20-17. Pittsburgh’s offense struggled mightily during the first half, but the unit got back on track in the second half and scored a touchdown to take the lead with just under five minutes remaining. The defense couldn’t find a way to stop the Cowboys on their game-winning drive, as they took the lead with just under :30 seconds to go.
A big theme of the Week 5 matchup was explosive plays on offense – more specifically how many the Cowboys were able to create and how little the Steelers were. The defense was able to stop Dallas from putting too many points on the board thanks to timely takeaways, but the Cowboys didn’t have much trouble moving the ball down the field. Head Coach Mike Tomlin spoke about the impact these explosive plays had after the game, and he was asked what led to the lapses in coverage on defense during his press conference on Tuesday.
“Some of it is Dak [Prescott] to be quite honest with you. He’s very good with the ball in terms of seeing the full field and making good decisions and utilizing all of his eligibles. I thought also a component was that we didn’t manage communication well enough. I love Acrisure Stadium man, it is an asset to us – it makes things challenging for opposing offenses. But we respect it also because it makes things challenging from a communication standpoint oftentimes for us as a defense. And I didn’t think our communication at times was up to snuff, that was a component of it as well.”
Pittsburgh’s home field advantage is some of the best in the league, mainly due to how much the fan base loves the franchise. During home games, the crowd is loud when the opposing team’s offense has the ball. This is the way it is for every team in the league. The only issue is that it makes it difficult for the defense to hear one another when they are trying to communicate before the snap as well – specifically in the secondary.
The secondary struggled for Pittsburgh on Sunday night. A part of that has to do with Dak Prescott, his experience, and effectiveness as a passer. However, it also had a lot to do with the secondary breaking down. There were multiple instances where the Cowboys were able to complete deep balls to wide open receivers, which is extremely concerning for the highest paid defense in the NFL.
The Cowboys had completions of 48, 34, 22, 18, and two of 27 yards on Sunday night. This is unacceptable for a defense with one of the best safeties in the league in Minkah Fitzpatrick and two stud corners in Donte Jackson and Joey Porter Jr. It doesn’t matter what offense Pittsburgh is facing, explosive plays like these shouldn’t occur against this caliber of a defense.
Tomlin placing part of the blame on having home field advantage is also bizarre. He has been coaching in Pittsburgh for 18 years, he should be used to the atmosphere of the stadium by now and have simple solutions ready for the defense to communicate properly.
Steelers’ Minkah Fitzpatrick Provides Solution For Issues In Coverage
Fitzpatrick spoke to reporters following the loss and stated that the defense needs to simplify their play calls due to there being a lot of new faces in the secondary, and a lot of those new faces being young. Only two players in the starting secondary were on the team during the 2023 season, one being Fitzpatrick and the other being Porter Jr. Jackson is new to the team for the 2024 season, as is DeShon Elliott.
Beanie Bishop Jr. is the starting slot cornerback and he is the clear weak link of the group as a rookie undrafted free agent. There were clear instances on Sunday night where the rookie looked confused in coverage, and Tomlin even admitted to seeing the Cowboys taking advantage of Bishop.
