Film Room: Where Steelers Defense Fell Apart
When you have a home opener versus what many considered to be among the best teams in the NFL, expectations are going to be tested. What happened in Week 1 could only be described as a humbling experience for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who, going into this week, were viewed as the big sleeper team in the AFC to potentially contend with the big boys.
That came crashing down quickly, huh?
So much went wrong for the Steelers' defense versus the 49ers that it would be hard to pinpoint exactly which position group is at fault the most. There were cracks just about everywhere, which is to be expected when the offense can barely possess the ball (more on them to come in the week).
Let's start with the secondary.
Defensive Secondary Breaks Down:
Execution is the most important thing when it comes to football. Players need to be aware of their job in the context of the scheme. What happened on the first Brandon Aiyuk touchdown was players not doing their job in the confines of the scheme.
The 49ers run play action with max protection here, which gives Brock Purdy plenty of time to survey and scan the defense versus the blitz. The problem here is he only has a two-man route concept, with Aiyuk running a switch release to the outside towards Patrick Peterson.
Peterson has outside leverage, as he is the field-side corner with a ton of open space to defend towards the outside. He also has potential safety help inside, so it makes sense for him to cheat towards the outside. Damontae Kazee should see Deebo Samuels running across toward the boundary zone; regardless of the coverage, he needs to pass this off immediately and get back to the post.
While not knowing the exact coverage call here isn't great for context, it's simple math in the red zone with all this condensed space and seeing the defenders' leverage. Unfortunately, the issues were not solely exclusive to the defensive backs, as the linebackers also had some rough moments.
Tampa 2 defensive coverage
NFL
The Steelers are running a Tampa 2 defensive coverage, which puts a lot of responsibility here on Cole Holcomb as the deep middle-of-the-field player, something the 49ers Fred Warner does very well. Despite some false steps, Holcomb actually does a good job of getting depth here. The problem is what happens when the ball gets released.
Holcomb actually hesitates, as he stops his feet the moment the ball is released. To make matters worse, instead of attacking back to ball and angling Samuels off, he elects to go for an awkward over-the-shoulder diving catch while fading away. Not all linebackers have a knack for locating the ball, but this is just downright puzzling.
It wasn't just coverage breakdowns from the second and third level though, that did them in, but also a lack of proper tackling execution.
To say Levi Wallace had a rough game would be an understatement. The 49ers were targeting the outside because they doubled up the edge with guys like George Kittle and Kyle Juszczyk, while it left Aiyuk to take on the second and third-level defenders. All three of those guys are incredible blockers, with Aiyuk being arguably the best blocking receiver in the league.
That put much of the tackling on the defensive backs, so there was a mixture of passive leverage to angle runners out of bounds and aggressive angles to keep them limited to short gains, which neither ended up happening. Instead, Christian McCaffrey was able to use his speed and incredible balance to create long gains. After finishing the first half with a touchdown for the offense, a lot of air got left out of the building when they gave up the opening second-half long touchdown run.
Surely there had to be bright spots to a game this disastrous, right?
Larry Ogunjobi Does His Job and Keeanu Benton Flashes:
While the Steelers did lose Cameron Heyward to an extended period of time due to a serious groin injury, there was a silver lining to come out of this game for them. Both Larry Ogunjobi and Keeanu Benton looked to alleviate some of the fears in limited playing time, as both flashed in the pass rush and ability to stop the run.
Benton always had a reputation that stemmed from his wrestling background to being able to discard blockers with ease with the use of his hands. We see a mixture, or rather a string together of pass rush moves here from the shot put into a swim over and the cross chop into the swim. He is someone that many thought had a future in the league playing as a three-technique over the guard, as opposed to being in the middle taking on doubles.
The thing about him is that he had the versatility to play anywhere along the interior defensive line. The Steelers had a much more pressing need, though, for him to play at nose, but with the Heyward injury, that plan may very well change. Benton graded as the second-highest Steelers player on Sunday with an 86.1 overall grade, according to Pro Football Focus.
Ogunjobi, meanwhile, was able to show in a limited playing time, despite an injury during the practice week leading up to the game, that he deserved the contract he got in the offseason, as he looked explosive and powerful in the snaps he got.
Of course, the best player on the field for the Steelers went without question.
TJ Watt is Still an Elite Pass Rusher:
It goes without saying at this point, but there's a reason Watt is almost consistently mentioned among the elite defenders at his position. But there was some chatter in the offseason about quite a few edge defenders being better pass rushers than him, and it looked like he took that to heart.
Watt finished the game being charted with six pressures, two QB hits, one hurry, two forced fumbles and three sacks, according to PFF. It's unfortunate to waste what was a clinical pass-rushing display by him, but it is nice to see that the former defensive player of the year looks healthy and rejuvenated.
Overall Takeaways:
The Steelers defense had a variety of issues compound itself in Week 1, with most of them rearing their head within the secondary. The Steelers came in with some questions regarding running mate next to Minkah Fitzpatrick, and the questions will at least linger for another week with a subpar outing from Damontae Kazee in the communication department.
Holcomb will want to burn the film, as he showed a lack of ball tracking and got washed down too often in the run game. Wallace was often a key line of the defensive run game but was unable to limit chunk plays, as he showed shoddy tackling form.
The Steelers will hope that the performances of Ogunjobi, Benton and Watt will help spark the defense going forward. They will certainly need more than just those three to help ignite a winning streak in the foreseeable future. Hopefully, a better offensive performance next week could soften the load for the defense.
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