Steelers' James Harrison Detailed How A Damaging Trend Is Turning Help Into Harm

The Pittsburgh Steelers spent Sunday doing enough to leave Paris with another victory, but one phase of the game kept making everyone else's job unnecessarily difficult. It's a peculiar talent: surrender ground without the opposing offense snapping the ball, then ask the defense to clean up the mess. A former Steelers star has watched this routine long enough to wonder whether the occasional good play is even worth the trouble.

Former linebacker James Harrison unloaded on Pittsburgh's special teams after Sunday's 16-10 win over the New Orleans Saints, questioning whether the unit is providing more help than harm under coordinator Danny Crossman. His criticism centered on recurring penalties and porous kickoff coverage, both of which showed up again in a game Pittsburgh ultimately controlled with its defense.

The sequence Harrison couldn't stomach followed the Steelers' only touchdown. Pittsburgh had taken a 10-3 lead late in the second quarter, and the Saints needed only one special teams snap to recover a large chunk of the field. New Orleans returned the ensuing kickoff 42 yards to its own 48. Instead of forcing a long march, the coverage unit handed the Saints a 52-yard assignment.

New Orleans converted two fourth downs on the possession and tied the game at 10 with 1:45 left before halftime. The return didn't score the touchdown, and Pittsburgh's defense had chances to finish the drive. Still, shaving nearly half the field off an opponent's workload is an expensive way to celebrate grabbing momentum.

During Monday's Deebo & Joe episode, Harrison was incredulous about how quickly the advantage disappeared.

“Special teams want to go and sell on us. They want to give 43. Special teams is either getting a penalty or giving up a big return,” Harrison said.

The official return was 42 yards; Harrison's reference to 43 came in the heat of a larger complaint. His point was unmistakable. Pittsburgh spends an entire possession working to gain an advantage, and the next kickoff can reduce that accomplishment to a field-position headache. A unit designed to help the offense and defense shouldn't keep forcing them to pay for its mistakes.

The penalty portion wasn't theoretical, either. Earlier in the game, rookie Kaden Wetjen signaled for a fair catch on a punt at Pittsburgh's 7-yard line. A holding flag against the return unit moved the ball back to the 4. The returner hadn't tried anything reckless. Pittsburgh still found a way to make a difficult starting spot worse.

Harrison revisited the subject later in the show with a broader warning that carried considerably more weight than an argument about one long return.

“We got a problem in special teams, man. Y'all got to kill with these penalties and tighten up on y'all coverage units 'cause y'all, you help us a little bit, but I'm thinking you're doing a little bit more harm than help at points and times,” Harrison said.

There's a reason that assessment lands. Before the trip to France, Pittsburgh ranked 30th in kickoff-return average and 28th in punt-return average. The return game wasn't generating much field position, while the coverage group was already inviting questions about missed tackles and lane discipline. Sunday's mistakes looked less like isolated accidents and more like the latest entries on an increasingly familiar list.

Crossman has acknowledged the need for better blocking, timing and execution. His unit was limited to two punt-return opportunities in Paris, and he believes Wetjen is beginning to recognize lanes more effectively. Those are reasonable explanations for inconsistent returns. They do considerably less to explain why coverage players keep giving opponents inviting starting positions.

The frustrating part is that Pittsburgh also produced genuinely good special teams plays Sunday. Wetjen opened the game with a 35-yard kickoff return and added a 13-yard punt return. Chris Boswell made all three field goals, including a hurried 47-yarder as the first half expired. Harrison's complaint isn't that nobody on the unit ever helps. It's that too much of the help arrives with a bill attached.

That distinction should worry Head Coach Mike McCarthy more than another lecture about effort. McCarthy said Monday that Pittsburgh needs greater production from its special teams, especially as younger contributors grow into larger roles. Seven games into Crossman's first season, the staff has had ample time to identify the same avoidable mistakes. The responsibility for improving the operation extends well beyond Wetjen.

The stakes increase when Pittsburgh plays tighter opponents. Sunday's defense held New Orleans to 10 points and just 18 rushing yards, covering for a return unit that couldn't consistently protect field position. A stronger offense may turn that 42-yard gift into seven points without needing two fourth-down conversions. Repeating the formula against the Cleveland Browns on November 1 would be a particularly poor experiment.

Steelers Cannot Keep Paying For Their Own Special Teams Mistakes

Harrison's frustration is justified, but his verdict should remain a challenge rather than a final mathematical judgment on the entire phase. Boswell's kicks mattered, and Wetjen offered progress. Neither changes the fact that special teams penalties and coverage lapses continue to create unnecessary work for the rest of the roster.

Crossman doesn't need a trick play or another promise about improvement. He needs his coverage team to stay in its lanes, finish tackles and stop turning routine possessions into emergency field-position drills. The return units must avoid flags before anybody starts dreaming about touchdowns.

Pittsburgh escaped Paris at 5-2, which gives the coaching staff room to fix the problem without explaining a loss. Harrison sees the danger of using that win as camouflage. If special teams is supposed to be the hidden edge, the Steelers can't keep handing that edge to somebody else.

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