It has been a long time since the Steelers defense had players running through them and past them like what happened in Mike Tomlin's worst-ever loss as head coach.
And it might be a while before it gets any better.
The Steelers' four-game losing streak — their first since 2016 — has coincided with the absence of outside linebacker T.J. Watt, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Watt is eligible to be activated from the injured reserve list this week, but he is expected to stay there a little while longer after having arthroscopic knee surgery while recuperating from a torn pectoral muscle. Watt injured his knee working out during his recovery.
As of right now, Watt is not expected to return to the lineup until the Steelers' Nov. 13 home game against the New Orleans Saints, according to team sources. While his knee surgery has extended his stay on injured reserve, the Steelers think the extra time off will actually be better for Watt because it will allow his torn pectoral muscle to be 100% when he returns.
Nonetheless, without Watt, the Steelers have lost their ability to do what they do best — pressure the quarterback. After leading the league in sacks for a record fifth consecutive season, the Steelers have just three sacks in the past four games without their All-Pro linebacker.
It was especially apparent in Sunday's 38-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills, the worst defeat of Tomlin's 16-year coaching career.
The Steelers failed to sack quarterback Josh Allen and registered only one quarterback hit. That allowed Allen to throw for 424 yards and four touchdowns, the most passing yards the Steelers have allowed since Tom Brady had 432 in a Nov. 3, 2013 blowout. Three of Allen's 20 completions were for at least 40 yards.
It was all part of an offensive onslaught in which the Bills amassed 552 yards, had a staggering 11 plays of at least 20 yards and averaged 10.2 yards per play.
"They did some of the same things to Tennessee, so we know it's capable of happening," Tomlin said, referring to Buffalo's 41-7 victory against the reigning AFC South-champion Titans in Week 2, a game in which Allen threw for 317 yards and four touchdowns. "I'm just disappointed that we didn't coach well enough or play well enough to prevent it from happening."
It would be easy to assign some blame to injuries. The Steelers were already without Watt, cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon (hamstring) and safety Terrell Edmunds (concussion), then lost defensive end Larry Ogunjobi (back) and cornerbacks Cam Sutton (hamstring) and Levi Wallace (concussion) during the game. Also, rookie defensive end DeMarvin Leal went down in the third quarter.
But the Bills were without 75% of their starting secondary and three of their regular receivers, including tight end Dawson Knox. Didn't seem to bother them.
What can the Steelers do about it after four consecutive losses for the first time since the 2016 season?
"You play like we played, you've got to be open to doing whatever is required to change the outcome of these games. That's a given," Tomlin said. "I don't think anybody is going to be surprised by our willingness to turn over whatever stone to change the outcomes of games like what transpired today. That's just appropriate."
Tomlin was asked if those moves might include coaching changes.
"Like I said, I think everyone understands where we are and what transpired (Sunday), and that it is not cool. So you can draw whatever conclusions you want to draw from it. That's just the reality of our business at this level."
The obvious place to start is with offensive coordinator Matt Canada, whose unit has scored just 77 points, third-fewest in the NFL. But the defense has been nearly as culpable, if not more, and that's been under Tomlin's control for years now.
The Steelers rarely, if ever, fire coaches during the season. But there have been several occasions where responsibilities are changed in-season.
Whatever the problem, it appears to have spread to many levels.
"If there's anybody who said they had a great game, they're not searching hard enough," defensive captain Cam Heyward said.
Running in place
Speaking of possible coaching adjustments ...
Najee Harris' impact on the offense has been so nominal he is even behind the tepid start he had as a rookie in 2021.
Harris has just 222 yards on 69 carries (3.2 average) after gaining just 20 yards on 11 carries against the Bills. He also has just 13 catches for 64 yards after five games.
Last year, the team's No. 1 draft pick from Alabama had 307 yards rushing on 78 carries (3.9 average) and 28 catches for 190 yards after five games.
Either Harris is not seeing the holes in front of him, or the coaching staff isn't doing enough to get him more involved or create more open space for him.
