Ex-NFL HC turned analyst Jeff Saturday is not a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense this season. On Tuesday’s episode of ESPN’s “Get Up”, he expressed his disappointment with how Mike Tomlin’s defense has performed so far in six games.
“Yeah, not maybe. They definitely are (the most disappointing), like you said, for the money they put in this defense and the expectations of what this defense was going to be,” Saturday said. “They let the Bengals, who hadn’t run the ball on anybody all season, rush for 100 yards in 10 carries. That is insane… Because you thought Rodgers was going to walk and be able to just the same thing that he had from the Jets.
“Their defensei is going to be good enough. All you got to do is just be status quo. Just be average, and we’ll win games. The problem is they’re asking him t owin games, not just be okay.”
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Saturday’s comments come after the Steelers’ 33-31 loss to the Bengals last Thursday. Tomlin’s team made some changes to the defense this season. He traded safety Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Dolphins in exchange for seven-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
Despite giving up points on the field, the Steelers have managed to put up a 4-2 record heading into Week 8. The offense, led by veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers, has been making up the gaps in the defense by creating scoring opportunities on the field.
In six games, Rodgers has tallied a total of 1,270 yards and 14 TDs passing. Last week, he recorded 249 yards and four passing touchdowns against the Bengals. Unfortunately, it was not enough to improve on their three-game winning streak.
Ryan Clark criticizes the Steelers’ defense after disappointing loss against the Bengals
On Sunday’s broadcast of ESPN’s “First Take”, ex-Steelers star Ryan Clark sounded off on the way Mike Tomlin’s defense performed against the Bengals.
He highlighted how they failed to create any pressure on quarterback Joe Flacco while allowing the Bengals, who are considered the league’s least productive rushing offense, to run for 142 yards.
“You often highlight not having a playoff win since 2016,” Clark said (Timestamp-11:15). “If you’re 0-6 on Thursday night on the road in the AFC North, you team needs to understand that. When we’re up 10 points, we need to lock in on our focus.
“When we’re up 10 points, we need to hold our shell on defense so Joe Flacco can’t see us spin down into one high and understand where he has the one-on-one because we saw that continuously through the night.”
The Pittsburgh Steelers next face the Green Bay Packers on Oct. 26 at 8:20 pm ET.