Steelers Defense Must Improve for Pittsburgh to Make Playoff Run

A Pittsburgh Steelers defense that's supposed to be much improved in 2015 looked nothing like it in a crushing road defeat on Sunday to the Seattle Seahawks.

Instead, it took considerable steps backward in a 39-30 loss to continue a worrying trend that could keep Pittsburgh out of the postseason altogether.

From missed tackles to blown secondary assignments, trouble containing running lanes to a failure to get off the field on third down, all of the Steelers' weakness were on display on Sunday in Seattle.

It resulted in a huge game for Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, who threw for 345 yards and five touchdowns in the best passing performance of his career.

Wilson had surpassed three touchdown passes in a game just twice as a pro before Sunday, and he hadn't accomplished the feat since 2013. He should send Pittsburgh a thank-you note, as a large chunk of his stats was the byproduct of shoddy missed tackles.

The game-sealing touchdown of 80 yards to Doug Baldwin—his third of the day—was the best example, as the 5'10" wideout shook off two Steelers defensive backs just yards past the first-down marker. That had many, including ESPN's Louis Riddick, realizing where Pittsburgh's biggest problem lies:

Before that, a head-scratching coaching decision put Pittsburgh in a position where it needed a big stop from a unit that had been struggling all game.

With his team down five points late and facing a 4th-and-goal from inside Seattle's 5-yard line, head coach Mike Tomlin opted to kick the field goal instead of going for the lead.

That left the Steelers' hopes in the hands of the defense, leading even beat reporters like David Todd of ESPN Pittsburgh to chuckle at the time:

Considering the defense had stopped only half of its third-down opportunities at the time, that was an odd decision. And the Seahawks' seventh conversion of their 13 third-down looks ended up being the nail in the coffin.

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Even with a defense that couldn't stop a nosebleed, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger dominated to keep his team in control for much of the game. His 456 passing yards were the most ever given up by Seattle, and he did well through the air despite Pittsburgh throwing the ball over four times more often than it ran (59 to 14).

As if it's any secret, it's the defense that is the reason why the team's playoff hopes are up in the air entering Week 13.

Pittsburgh ranks a lowly 30th in the league against the pass, giving up 283.6 yards per game. It does have nine interceptions on the season but only three combined in its five losses. Wilson became the third quarterback this season to toss at least four touchdown passes against Pittsburgh.

Even in wins, and especially of late, the Steelers' passing defense has struggled.

Despite beating Oakland and Cleveland in the two games before Sunday, the secondary was gashed, as Chris Bradford of the Beaver County Times noted:

When it comes down to it, the Steelers are still sitting in a favorable position when it comes to postseason aspirations. A bevy of injuries to Roethlisberger have come and gone, and even with NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal reporting that he's in concussion protocol following the loss, he still showed on Sunday that he's as good as ever.

But if this defense continues to play this poorly, they might be best served shutting down Big Ben for the season. As moronic as that sounds, that's the reality on the defensive side of the football.

There is a guy the Steelers can look toward to help shore things up in the secondary, as cornerback Brandon Boykin was acquired in training camp but hasn't seen much of the field.

Defensive backs coach Carnell Lake shared why, per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler: "Somebody else would have to be playing badly right now for him to get off the sideline. I have faith and confidence that he can play. It's just that we're doing OK."

Well, they aren't doing OK as of late. And in reality, it's not just "somebody" who is playing poorly. It's everybody.

With the Cincinnati Bengals running away with the AFC North and teams like Kansas City and Houston coming out of nowhere to contend for the wild-card spots, time is running out for the Steelers defense to figure things out.

If its trajectory doesn't change quickly, the team will be sitting at home in January.