PITTSBURGH -- The clock was approaching 2 p.m., and a few remaining Pittsburgh Steelers defensive players in the locker room were grabbing their bags on their way to meetings.
Some meetings were not pleasant this week, not after the defense turned Bills quarterbacks into the Ben Roethlisberger they see every day in practice. The quartet of Bills quarterbacks, none of whom are established commodities, produced a near-flawless performance Saturday, completing 30 of 33 passes for 386 yards, three touchdowns and a passer rating of 142.9. During the NFL Network broadcast, Bills great Thurman Thomas said from the booth, "Are the Steelers that bad?"
The Steelers certainly hope not.
“We haven’t seen [the defense] in its totality,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “We will see when we get to New England.”
The preseason is over. Kickoff with New England is nearly a week away. And based on four preseason games, the Steelers' pass coverage is not in the same galaxy of where it needs to be.
In four games, the only interception is courtesy of undrafted corner Kevin Fogg, who’s making a good case to make the 53-man roster but is far from a lock.
Cornerback Brandon Boykin broke down what’s going on with the pass coverage.
“We need to be tighter in coverage,” Boykin said. “We have a chance to get our hands on a lot more balls if we’re tighter in our coverage. There are a couple of holes in the defense right now, depending on what coverage we play. If we can tighten those things up and everybody gets on the same page with the linebackers and D-line, everybody together, we’ll be better. And we will.”
To have to call out holes in the defense this early is a bit alarming, though correctable. The Steelers know the communication must improve, and a 67-yard touchdown catch by Charles Clay is a perfect example. EJ Manuel threw a dime over the deep middle of the field, where both safeties were absent. In this Cover 2 set, the safeties flare to the sideline.
Linebacker Vince Williams dropped back into a zone but the ball was out of reach. Linebacker Ryan Shazier looked like he would help on coverage of Clay but appeared to slip. Clay beat the cornerback, who might or might not have expected help, and the play was over before it started.
Perhaps a perfect throw was unguardable in that particular defensive set. But fewer breakdowns will prevent these big plays. To be sure, the Steelers were without starters Lawrence Timmons and safety Mike Mitchell. Tomlin isn't overanalyzing the play, simply saying the Bills executed better.
“We better get better quick,” Boykin said. “We have a game coming up in less than two weeks.”
Linebacker Arthur Moats would rather have a day like this in the preseason. Moats doesn’t want to overreact to the game, pointing to the defense’s six-sack performance against Green Bay a week earlier, but urgency will increase in the next week.
“Once we get to the regular season, we can’t have that type of performance,” Moats said. “That’s the whole preseason, making sure you’re on the same page, seeing all the different looks and adjusting to it.”