Pittsburgh Steelers: 3 Takeaways vs. Packers in Week 12
By Donnie Druin
2. Secondary still needs work
With a Steelers defensive backfield ranking among the league’s best after years of dismal performances, it was almost too good to be true for the team to sustain that success without consequence. After free agent Joe Haden (who had not given up a contested catch all season) broke his fibula just a few weeks ago, there were questions about how the secondary would hold up without Haden. A Thursday night game against the Titans provided a glimpse of daylight, as the defense was able to pick Marcus Mariota off four times.
Similar expectations were mounted going into Week 12 against second-string quarterback Brett Hundley, who up to that point hadn’t escaped the Aaron Rodgers shadow due to poor play in all faucets of his game. Although facing a much tougher receiving corps than Tennessee’s, the drop-off in play from last week was expected to be very little, if none at all.
Boy, did the secondary drop off.
With a full week’s worth of preparation to see how the Steelers would operate without Haden anchoring one side of the field, the Packers made it a point to exploit the mismatches given and holes left in coverage, holes that were almost costly for the Steelers in the end.
Hundley was hitting wide open receivers in stride seemingly the whole night, hitting big play after big play. All three of Hundley’s passing touchdowns came from distances of 39, 54 and 55 yards, respectively. Whether it was man or zone coverage, Hundley found a way to turn the once phenomenal play of the secondary into one that resembled Swiss cheese.
There’s no word on a realistic timetable for the return of Haden, yet with the emergence of the likes of Mike Hilton, Artie Burns and Sean Davis, the pass defense should not have stooped as low as it did on Sunday night. One game wonder? Hopefully. Yet if a quarterback with the young skill-set Hundley possesses can carve up Pittsburgh’s defense, surely there’s a blueprint for others to follow.