Steelers' Mike Tomlin Not Alarmed By Lack Of Fight On Defense

The Pittsburgh Steelers are reeling following a loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football in which the team looked completely lost and confused for the entire fourth quarter, especially the defense. They were practically standing helpless as Packers tight end Tucker Kraft put an exclamation mark on a statement win for the Packers, finishing with 143 yards and two touchdowns on seven targets as the Packers cruised to a 35-25 win. For the second consecutive week, the Steelers' defense seemed to be unable to cover the top target of the opposing teams' top receiving target and were ultimately unable to put any pressure on Packers quarterback Jordan Love. They failed to sack him even once and only hit him five times throughout the entire game.

There have been plenty of questions raised about the team in recent weeks, along with questions about where the superstars on defense have been lately -- especially Steelers superstar linebacker T.J. Watt. Multiple outlets are suggesting Watt's performance has been non-impactful and are worried that his lack of production could be one of the main reasons as to why the Steelers' defense has been struggling in recent weeks. 

Recently, Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin held a round of media availability to answer questions regarding the Steelers' issues in the loss to the Packers, and some of the questions he was asked circled back to what might potentially be wrong with the defense. Tomlin spoke up in his press conference and admitted that the team doesn't appear to lack effort on defense, giving a statement that will certainly frustrate Steelers fans as they're looking for answers.

"I don't necessarily see a lack of fight in terms of effort," Tomlin stated bluntly. "I'm talking about fight in terms of play-making. You don't get credit for trying hard, we're not in the try-hard business. Our fight is about production, and producing, and we certainly didn't produce enough plays over the last 30 minutes of the game, particularly, in any of the phases to secure victory."

Tomlin's remarks clearly indicate that he believes the team didn't do their jobs in terms of play-making over the final minutes, attributing the collapse to simply not making plays over a lack of effort. Regardless of whether or not it was a lack of effort or just simply a lack of play-making, the Steelers' defense didn't get the job done in the end, making a game that felt winnable at times, especially when the Steelers led 16-7 at the half, feel like a lost opportunity in a week where a win would have been big for their overall chance to win the AFC North and secure a coveted home playoff game.

Despite the lack of ability to make plays, the Steelers can't afford another collapse such as this one considering that the schedule enters an extremely tough stretch in the next two weeks. The Packers aren't the only team with a substantial amount of playmakers on the offensive side of the ball, and the Steelers will need to find a solution to preventing a similar collapse soon.

Steelers Need To Recover Quickly On Defense As Schedule Gets Difficult

The Steelers won't have much time to recover from the collapse in the second half against the Packers. Their next game is against the white-hot 7-1 Indianapolis Colts at home, following that up with a matchup on the road against the 5-3 Los Angeles Chargers. This two-game stretch will be an incredibly tough one for the Steelers, especially with how the team as a whole seemed to collapse within the final 30 minutes against the Packers. This isn't something they can afford to have happen again, with how much tighter the AFC North is becoming after this loss. Tomlin's statements about the team lacking effort in making plays is something that can hopefully be corrected in short order, or else the Steelers could be in for a rough few weeks.

What did you think about Tomlin's comments about the team lacking fight to make plays? Let us know in the comments or on X at @SteelersSwamp7.

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