Steelers Star Vows To Fix Defensive Deficiency After Packers Loss

The Pittsburgh Steelers continued to display a glaring shortcoming against a specific position in Sunday night’s 35-25 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Jordan Love leaned heavily on his tight end to carve up Pittsburgh with 360 passing yards and three touchdowns. The Green Bay quarterback connected with Tucker Kraft for seven catches, a career-high 143 yards and two touchdowns to conclude “National Tight Ends Day” at Acrisure Stadium.

Kraft’s breakout game wasn’t an anomaly. The Steelers have now allowed an NFL-worst 79.3 receiving yards per game to opposing tight ends. Only the Cincinnati Bengals have surrendered more touchdowns (10) to the position than Pittsburgh’s six through seven games.

Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen promised to remedy that issue after the Week 8 loss, per “The Pat McAfee Show” correspondent Mark Kaboly.

“It’s going to be resolved,” Queen declared. “… It’s going to be resolved this week.”

Kraft wasn’t the first tight end to pick apart Pittsburgh’s defense. Hunter Henry posted 90 yards and two touchdowns for the New England Patriots in Week 3. Harold Fannin Jr. and David Njoku combined for 109 yards in Week 6, and Noah Fant found paydirt in Cincinnati’s Week 7 win over the Steelers.

That said, it’s not the only issue plaguing the unit. The Steelers rank 30th in total defense after permitting 830 yards and 68 points in back-to-back losses.

Queen’s decree won’t be easy, as the Steelers have an upcoming matchup against one of the league’s most promising young tight ends. Tyler Warren has started his career with 492 yards and three touchdowns for the Indianapolis Colts, who are 7-1 with the NFL’s leading scoring attack entering Sunday afternoon’s AFC clash at Pittsburgh.

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