PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – struggles with the Steelers offense has the defense on the field an NFL leading amount of time. The Steelers are a minus ---- in time of possession. It a reason for defenders wearing down no matter how much you rotate players.
But the Steelers say it’s not an excuse.
“If we get three and outs, we will be off the field fast,” said Steelers safety Terrell Edmunds. “We can't talk about that aspect of it because at the end of the day we have to make plays as well. Regardless of what the offense does, we have to go play ourselves."
It’s two of the its first three games where the defense couldn’t get the ball back to the offense for a game-winning opportunity. Against the Patriots it was 13 straight plays at the end of the game where the defense can’t make a stop. The Browns had drives of 12, 9, 14 and 11 plays Thursday night.
"For us it's not how we get on the field, it's how we get off the field,” said linebacker Robert Spillane. “We need to be where we are supposed to be, tackle, fly around and be good teammates. We have a lot to work and focus on this week."
It’s not a new issue. Last year the Steelers were the only team in the NFL to allow five yards per rush. They allowed 144 first downs via the run. This was a free fall from the previous year, dropping 21 spots in rush defense.
“They dominated the line of scrimmage (Thursday),” Edmunds said. “We can't let guys just run down on us. Something we have to get better at, we've been singing the same song, so we have to figure out exactly what we have to do to get better at it."
“There is no perfect in the NFL,” Spillane said. “We got to do a better job of tackling, getting 11 hats to the ball and making plays. The more we do that going forward, the more we will end up winning.”
Back on Monday
Steelers return from two days off to get ready for the Jets as October football begins. Often the team will get a three-day weekend following a Thursday night game, but not after that loss. The Steelers had team meetings and work on Friday.