Steelers Seemingly Keep Using The Same "Excuse" For Every Poor Performance

The Pittsburgh Steelers' defense, which was supposed to be "historical," has been one of the worst in the NFL during the 2025 regular season. Meanwhile, the offense has been doing most of the heavy lifting throughout the campaign. After seven weeks, it seems like Pittsburgh is heading straight towards another disappointing finish to a season, strictly because the defensive side of the ball is lacking.

The Steelers are dealing with the same issue they had when they blew their chance in 2024: miscommunications. That word has popped up many times within the last calendar year. Every time there is a poor defensive performance, someone within the organization brings that up. 

During his weekly Q&A chat, insider Gerry Dulac was asked about who is at fault for these miscommunications, and why that's the excuse so often. Dulac responded with some very discouraging thoughts.

"And that's what it is," Dulac said. "An excuse. Under the heading 'miscommunication' is, don't know the play, can't remember the call, I'm not sure of the defense."

The Steelers can't keep expecting to win games if they keep having to fall back on this each time the defense falters. Those miscommunications led to fingers being pointed all over the place at the end of the 2024 season, with nobody stepping up to take accountability for those failures. That same story is being played out in 2025. The question is, who is really at fault?

For starters, if the unit can't remember the play, that's on the players. They have practiced these plays all throughout training camp, and they focus on individual ones each week that they plan to implement. If you can't remember what was just called on a regular basis, you'll end up riding the bench. Everyone has to be on the same page, each play. However, it seems like not knowing the play and not knowing what's going on is an epidemic in the facilities. If it's as bad as many make it out to be, then it's on the coaching staff to fix it. Head Coach Mike Tomlin does have a reputation of implementing a complicated defense. Sometimes, simplifying things and getting back to the basics is what a team needs. 

The front office could also see some blame. If Tomlin's scheme is that confusing and complex, overhauling the defense every year results in the same issues. Trading Minkah Fitzpatrick away for a supposedly better scheme fit and better player in Jalen Ramsey does not accomplish much when he's waiting for someone to clarify what Patrick Queen may have already said in the huddle.

In the end, the whole system seems like it may be flawed. There's little consistency, and players bring out the "miscommunication" excuse after the defense fails to do its part. If they don't actually try to figure out the root of this problem, the same issues will pop up again. More players will be scapegoated, and the mishaps will likely continue.

Steelers Harped On Switching Things Up During 2025 Offseason

In the offseason, the Steelers spoke about how they were going to implement new schemes to prevent these miscommunications from happening. While they've definitely blitzed more, their new strategies haven't proven to be fully effective just yet. This new "simpler" look was supposed to make audibles and play calls easier to manage, but there are still numerous instances of players looking at each other after giving up a huge play. 

The Steelers will look to rebound Sunday night against the Green Bay Packers at Acrisure Stadium.

What do you think about the miscommunications being an excuse? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

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