Changes to defensive staff or play-calling 'not on the table,' Steelers coach Mike Tomlin says

As the midpoint of the Pittsburgh Steelers season approaches, the defense is ranked No. 30 in total yardage and last against the pass. The Steelers have yielded 30 points in back-to-back weeks and four times in seven games.

For the first time since early in the 2019 season, the defense allowed more than 400 yards per game in consecutive weeks.

Yet, coach Mike Tomlin is planning no changes in defensive play-calling, and he continues to support fourth-year defensive coordinator Teryl Austin.

“That’s not on the table as we sit here today,” Tomlin said Tuesday at his weekly news conference when asked about any potential changes. “We’ve got to keep doing what we’re doing and do it better.”

The Steelers are coming off a 35-25 loss against Green Bay in which the defense allowed 289 yards and 28 points after halftime and 454 yards overall. That was a slight improvement from the previous week when the Steelers yielded 470 yards in a 33-31 loss at Cincinnati to a team riding a four-game losing streak.

The consecutive losses dropped the Steelers’ record to 4-3, which remains good enough to keep them in first place in a mediocre AFC North. Awaiting them Sunday are the Indianapolis Colts, who at 7-1 have the NFL’s best record. The Colts also lead the league in scoring and total offense.

“Seven games don’t make a season,” Tomlin said. “We’ve got more in front of us, more opportunities to write our story.”

The stretch of defensive play is the worst since the first three weeks of the 2019 season when the Steelers gave up more than 400 yards to New England, Seattle and San Francisco en route to an 0-3 start.

Austin had just joined the Steelers that season as a senior defensive assistant and secondary coach. He was promoted to defensive coordinator after the 2021 season when Keith Butler retired.

The Steelers were a top-10 defense in points allowed in Austin’s first three seasons as defensive coordinator. They rank No. 22 this year. In terms of total yardage, the Steelers ranked Nos. 13, 21 and 12, respectively, before descending to No. 30 this year.

“I’ve known Teryl a long time,” Tomlin said. “He’s very capable. He’s very thorough. I’ve largely been pleased with his work, but certainly he and I are not pleased with where we are right now from a defensive unit perspective. We’re going to keep working.”

The Steelers beefed up their secondary in the offseason by adding Darius Slay in free agency and trading for Jalen Ramsey, both former All-Pro players. Brandin Echols and safety Juan Thornhill also were signed in free agency, and backup safeties Chuck Clark and Jabrill Peppers were brought in early in training camp and before the second game of the season, respectively.

Despite having the NFL’s highest-paid defense, the Steelers continue to struggle, particularly in defending the pass. They dropped to last in the league after Green Bay’s Jordan Love carved up the Steelers for 360 passing yards, completing 20 attempts in a row to open the second half. That included third-down completions of 59 and 33 yards in the third quarter that led to touchdowns.

Defensive captain Cameron Heyward said the Steelers didn’t handle adversity well in the second half.

“I certainly agree with that,” Tomlin said. “I don’t like how we responded to explosion plays, field-flipping plays, drive-producing third-down conversions that happened in the third quarter. … You don’t always have control over what happens to you in a game. Rest assured, some things are going to happen. There is ebb and flow over the course of 60 minutes.

“In that instance, as a collective, we feel we didn’t respond in an appropriate or desired way. We didn’t smile in the face of it and didn’t produce the type of play that counteracts that and swings the balance back in our favor.”

Reminded that his defense is littered with veterans — it features just one rookie and one second-year starter — Tomlin responded, “I’m sure our kids should do what we tell them to do, but they often don’t. We all fall short of perfection. That is why we’re always working as individuals or as a collection.”

Heyward and third-year cornerback Joey Porter Jr. also questioned the Steelers’ fight — or lack thereof — in the second half. Tomlin, though, wasn’t critical of his team’s effort, just the execution.

“I’m talking about fight in terms of playmaking,” he said. “You don’t get credit for trying hard. We’re not in the try-hard business. Our fight is about production and producing, and we certainly didn’t produce enough plays over the last 30 minutes of the game in any of the phases to secure victory.”