The Pittsburgh Steelers had fans quite excited at halftime during a big-time Sunday Night Football contest against the Green Bay Packers. All was going well for Head Coach Mike Tomlin and his team, but the wheels fell off quickly in the second half. The end result was an unfortunate 35-25 loss, which has the defense front and center once again. The unit was abysmal in the final 30 minutes of the game, as Jordan Love was able to do whatever he wanted in the third and fourth quarters. A lot needs to be cleaned up in the Steel City, and quickly.
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation.com (Twitter/ X: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin yells in the direction of one of his players as the team warms up prior to a professional football game at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA.
The Steelers' defense has found ways to be inconsistent in recent years, but the beginning to the 2025 campaign has started off on a completely different level. To have the highest-paid group in the league allow 30 or more points in four of seven games is very telling. There are some underlying issues that seem as if they will never be solved. At least, not anytime soon.
Fans and analysts won't be shy when it comes to shredding Tomlin's defense and the effort, especially in Weeks 7 and 8. It's not going to get any easier with the Indianapolis Colts coming to town in Week 9. Doug Whaley, a former Pro Personnel Coordinator in Pittsburgh, joined WPXI's postgame show during an edition of The Black and Gold Zone. He admitted Tomlin is great with words, but the team as a whole is following that trait, instead of getting to the bottom of its core problems.
"Teams take characteristics of their head coaches, and if you listen to Tomlin, he's a great orator. He's got great one-liners," Whaley said. "When you look at this team on paper, you have a Hall of Fame quarterback. You have two Hall of Famers on the defensive line [and] a possible Hall of Famer in Jalen Ramsey. You've got some young talent, but guess what you don't have? Substance, just like Mike Tomlin's press conferences."
Whaley was once the general manager for the Buffalo Bills as well, so he has an idea of how NFL locker rooms work. He isn't slamming the door on the idea that the group playing for Tomlin is starting to lose a little bit of faith.
"When you start thinking about it that way and you start hearing buy-in... My question is, 'Are those guys in the locker room buying into what the coaching staff is putting out there and trying to have them pick up?'"
The former executive is painting a picture that many fans are wondering themselves. Something is extremely off with a defensive unit that has way too much talent to be playing so poorly. Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin isn't off the hook, either.
Emily Matthews / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Steelers Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin directs his players as the team works out during a 2022 minicamp practice at the UPMC Sports Complex in Pittsburgh, PA.
Until the Steelers' defense figures out a way to stop a powerful offense, no one across the NFL landscape is going to buy Tomlin and co. as a contender. Austin's collective has been predictable, slow, and just downright inconsistent to the highest level. There is still time to get the ship turned around, but patience is wearing thin. If the same product that was put on the field against the Packers shows up versus the Colts, there are going to be some angry members of Steeler Nation.
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (X: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin roams the practice field as his team works out during a 2025 training camp practice at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.
Steelers Can't Afford To Lose Third Game In A Row
The AFC North is an absolute mess following eight weeks of the regular season. Pittsburgh had the easiest path to be the top team, but that has drastically changed in just two weeks time. There will be a lot on the line in the month of November, and Tomlin's group has a brutal schedule for the majority of the rest of the campaign. The defense, not the offense, could end up being the reason why this franchise doesn't make the playoffs in 2025.
Do you think that the Steelers need to change something up on the defensive side of the ball? Let us know in the comments below!
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