The Steelers have seven defensive players on the injured list heading into Sunday's game against the New England Patriots, and all seven were either expected to, or have started, one of the first two games this season.
The players include linebacker Alex Highsmith, defensive lineman Isaiahh Loudermilk, cornerback Joey Porter Jr., defensive lineman Derrick Harmon, safety DeShon Elliott, cornerback Darius Slay and linebacker Patrick Queen.
Coach Mike Tomlin cited that attrition as one of the reasons the Seattle Seahawks were able to break open a tight game late and defeat the Steelers, 31-17, Sunday.
"I thought our defense wore down some, particularly as the game went on," said Tomlin. "We had the desire to improve our run defense, and I thought, particularly initially, we did. But there's an attrition component to the game, and our lines got a little thin at various points in the game. I thought we felt the effects of that. I know certainly we were somewhat limited with some of the schematics that we would like to deploy, because we have some new people in there and we're relatively new to this season. And so we weren't as good as I'd like for us to be in terms of our midstream adjusting. And so I'm excited about getting the collective back to work here with a six-day preparation cycle and effort to address some of those things."
Tomlin also commented a special teams mistake by rookie Kaleb Johnson, who allowed a live ball to roll into the end zone and be recovered by the Seahawks early in the fourth quarter for a touchdown. It turned a 3-point Seahawks lead into 10.
"Certainly, the lack of judgment by a young return man was a significant play in the game," said Tomlin at his weekly press conference. "As I mentioned after the game, a lot of times, when you're in close ball games, particularly early in the year, there's a play in that space, in that special team space, that often shapes or turns a game. It helped us in a positive way with the play by Kenny Gainwell against the Jets, and certainly the game the other day was a negative outcome.
In prep for Sunday's game at New England, Tomlin called the three defensive starters who missed last week's game -- SS DeShon Elliott, DT Derrick Harmon, and CB Joey Porter Jr., -- questionable this week, with Elliott and Harmon being dubbed "questionable at best."
Two starters last week have been ruled out after suffering in-game injuries: DT Isaiahh Loudermilk and OLB Alex Highsmith. Both have ankle sprains, Loudermilk's a more severe high ankle sprain.
ILB Patrick Queen (oblique) and CB Darius Slay (shoulder) will be limited at practice early in the week.
The weakened Steelers defense allowed the Seahawks to gain 4.9 yards per carry in the second half after allowing only 3.0 per carry in the first half. In the fourth quarter, the Seahawks put the game away with a 19-yard touchdown run on a third-and-goal carry.
"I thought that we did a better job in Week Two, certainly, than we did in Week One," Tomlin said of his run defense. "I thought it got away from us down the stretch as we wore down. I think they maybe had 50 yards or so in the last scoring drive, for example. And so we're just simply going to get back to work."
Rookies such as Jack Sawyer, Yahya Black, and Carson Bruener, and first-year player Logan Lee, are examples of young players who'll be asked to carry larger loads this week. Tomlin was asked how best to overcome all of that youth on defense.
"We continue to work," he said. "It's not only their youth, it's our collective youth in this season that is 2025. Injuries are a part of the game, certainly. You adapt and you move on. But it certainly comes with more challenges at the early portions of the year, and I think we kind of felt the effects of that. I certainly feel confident that we're going to experience the benefit of that. We've got some young people gaining some real in-game experience, and we're being challenged as strategists to adapt and bring the game to them. I think in the big scheme of things, all of those things are positive."
As for Johnson, the rookie running back, he won't return kickoffs this week.
"Probably not in the short term," Tomlin said. "I'm certainly going to give him an opportunity to work his way back from that error. I believe in his talent. He's a sharp young man. He's a hard worker, and so you leave the light on for him. You give him an opportunity to move on from it. But he has to do that. He has to display that with his daily work, and he's got to earn himself back in the position to be a participant. So, we'll see where the roads lead us. I'm open to it, certainly."
Tomlin was asked if he's concerned that such a move might curtail Johnson's overall confidence.
"Certainly," he said, "but I don't think you get to the National Football League without having faced some adversity as a player and responding appropriately. He's a young guy, and so certainly I'm gonna watch him closely, but I expect him to rebound. I expect him to roll his sleeves up and go to work and to wait for his next opportunity."
Next, the 1-1 Steelers will travel to face the 1-1 Patriots, whom this season are coached by former Steelers draft pick and player Mike Vrabel, who hired Josh McDaniels as his offensive coordinator.
"They're a new staff, certainly," Tomlin said, "but there are a lot of things that are familiar. We've competed against Mike over the years, and certainly I see some characteristics in all three phases of the game that look highly familiar, and obviously on offense, and I'll start there first, with their playcaller, Josh McDaniels, as we've competed against him quite a bit over the years. Josh always does a nice job of working to keep you off balance. He'll get you in big personnel groups and spread you out.
"But as I mentioned, we've competed against him a lot over the years. There's some familiarity there, but I also imagine he's saying similar things on the defensive side of the ball."
