The Pittsburgh Steelers may have put up their worst effort of the 2024 season in Week 15. While the score does not look that bad, they were dominated in three of the four quarters by the Philadelphia Eagles. The offense only had two drives in the second half, as the defense could not find a way to get off the field for multiple reasons. All in all, nobody is blameless in the game, and if the Steelers have any desire to win a playoff game, they have to make sure that they don't ever play nearly as bad as that again.
During his postgame press conference, Head Coach Mike Tomlin took numerous questions about why his team got outclassed in every facet, especially on defense. He did not mince words about the problems in that game.
"Not making tackles in the flat when we have a chance to make those tackles on possession downs are significant. You can point to one play, but more than anything... we weren't good enough in some fundamental areas tonight."
The defense has been the pride and joy of the Steelers for many years. In the game against the Eagles, that unit got out-maneuvered, bullied, out-played, and out-coached. Head Coach Nick Sirianni and Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore ran circles around Tomlin's unit, and had no answers for it whatsoever.
Tomlin opted to punt the ball down 14 points with roughly 10:30 on the clock, expecting his tired defense to get a stop. The Eagles ate up the rest of the clock on a 21-play, 88-yard drive that didn't even result in points. Every time the drive seemed to end, the Eagles would get a huge chunk play to extend it and keep the tired Steelers on the field.
The Eagles were 10/17 on third down, including 4/6 on that final mammoth drive. One of the failed third downs resulted in a fourth down conversion, and the other one was a kneel to officially run the clock all the way down to zeros. They even had a 2nd & 20 that turned into a first down.
To make things worse, the Steelers were successful in limiting Saquon Barkley. He got injured early in the game and could not find his stride in the 2nd half when he returned. He had 19 carries for 65 yards, which totals out to 3.4 yards per carry. The Steelers did their job limiting him, but they seemingly forgot to prepare for everyone else on the Eagles' stout offense.
Steelers' Captain Echoes Tomlin's Worries
During his own postgame press conference, Cameron Heyward took some shots at the unit that he is in charge of leading.
"I think we didn't do a good job of tackling, especially on the edge. We can get them in 3rd and long, and we didn't take advantage of that. We talk about plastering. I thought a couple times they were able to sustain drives by QB mobility, but we have to do a better job of finishing those plays on the defensive side of the ball, which we didn't."
The defense has definitely had some bad moments throughout the season, but this has to be the worst. Even when they allowed over 30 points to the Cincinnati Bengals, the defense made plays when they had to, including a fumble returned for a touchdown. The Eagles are competing for the one seed in the NFC, while the Bengals' season is over. There is a difference between the two teams.
The schedule does not get easier from here. The Steelers play the Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs in a span of five days. They may have clinched a playoff spot already, but if they want to host a playoff game or even win one, things have to change right now.
