Cowboys @ Steelers All-22 Rewatch: The Defense
via NFL Pro
I went back and rewatched the defensive performance put out by the Steelers in their 20-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. There’s really no sugar-coating it: the Steelers should’ve won this game, and I’m sick to my stomach that they didn’t. There’s a couple of losses, pretty much every year, that I look back on and view as losses that kinda define the team, and I feel like as this year progresses, this could be one of those losses. I’m getting the sense that the identity that Arthur Smith is, at this point, forcing on this offense, is not working. It’s more of the same from last year, when we were asking the defense to go out and be all-time great every week to keep us in games. With that being said, this has been a depressing week, and I wanted to put this game behind me, so I didn’t do a super-duper deep dive in this one.
I wrapped up a post from earlier this week by saying that Patrick Queen has been quiet so far this season, and I wanted to focus on him fairly closely in the all-22 film. I want to preface my thoughts on him with this: what I am about to say about PQ is through the lens of the tons of snaps I watched from him last year with the Ravens, and the 87 snaps that he played against the Cowboys a few days ago. This is not meant to be a critique of his play throughout this season…just this one game. With that being said, when I watch his reps against the Cowboys, he doesn’t look like he’s playing the game as instinctually as he did last year. This game is littered with plays where he could’ve made a play if he was playing full speed, but he just doesn’t do that. It’s almost like he’s playing not to lose a rep vs. playing to win a rep. Maybe Ravens fans were right, and it was the Roquan Smith effect that allowed him to play more freely. I think the more likely reason is the trust he has built in the big guys up front like Cam Heyward, Larry O, and Keeanu Benton, to make plays in the run game. Also, DeShon Elliot has emerged as a big time guy for us against the run, but more on that later. The moral of the story is, Patrick Queen is not playing bad. He’s constantly in communication with all levels of the defense, and he’s always where he’s supposed to be. He just doesn’t seem to be playing as fast as he did in Baltimore. Again, these are simply my thoughts based on what I saw in one game. This doesn’t define his season AT ALL.
I’ll tell you what, though, Payton Wilson, at times, looks how I expected Patrick Queen to look. This rep from him early in the 4th quarter is exactly the kind of play against the run that I’m talking about. Play recognition, burst, and most importantly, making the tackle cleanly. Awesome stuff from the rookie. Despite the quiet start to the year for PQ, the names on this team at ILB are solid as a rock.
While we’re talking about ILB, I’ll give Elandon Roberts a shoutout too for this play on the goal line with 30 seconds left in the game. This was one of the best plays of the whole year, in my opinion, by our defense. In a gotta-make-a-play moment, Roberts does just that. The Cowboys fell on the fumble, but it at least gave the Steelers some breathing room. It would all be for naught, as Dak Prescott would throw the game-winning touchdown pass to Tolbert two plays later…but what a play by Elandon Roberts.
I mentioned DeShon Elliot earlier, so I’ll give him his flowers as well. What this guy is able to do in the box is remarkable to me. He looked damn good in the box last year with the Dolphins, but he’s showing how good he can be when you put solid pieces all around him and he can play freely. He makes plays in the run game, and he batted down two passes at the line of scrimmage in this game against the Cowboys AS A PASS-RUSHER. That is a hell of a skill set for a safety to have. He definitely had some bad moments in coverage, but pocket passers, like Dak Prescott, will make even the best safeties look bad at times, so I’m not going to dunk on him for that.
It wasn’t all flowers and sunshine for the defense, though. Beanie Bishop Jr. was a fun storyline during training camp and the preseason, but he looks out of his depth as the starting slot corner. This, to me, is kinda similar to the situation going on in the WR room right now, where, as a front office, you came into the year knowing you had a liability on your defense, but you didn’t do anything about it. He’s just not at a place in his development where he should be shouldering as much responsibility as he is. Not really sure what the plan is there, other than wait for Cameron Sutton to return from his suspension. Sutton will be able to return to the team following our Oct. 28th game against the Giants. So, the first game he will be eligible to appear in will be November 10th against the Commanders.
Maybe the thing that concerns me the most watching this game against Dallas, and looking ahead to this week’s game in Vegas, is the EDGE spot, believe it or not. Nick Herbig left the Cowboys game with a hamstring, and we’ll be without him in Vegas. Jeremiah Moon and Demarvin Leal were getting tons of EDGE snaps together in the second half against the Cowboys before Demarvin Leal went down with a neck injury. That means T.J. Watt and Jeremiah Moon are going to be shouldering a majority of the workload against the Raiders. We know what T.J. Watt is capable of, but Jeremiah Moon was, essentially, irrelevant against the Cowboys. Maybe an entire week of work with the starters will give him some juice coming into this week, but we’re pencil thin at OLB right now. Prayers up for the health of those guys.
I felt disgusting writing all of this out. I’m ready to put this game behind me. We have an opportunity to bounce back against an inconsistent Raiders team on Sunday. Here. We. Go.
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