Kevin Gorman: In most significant moment, Steelers defense didn't get job done

The disgust in Cameron Heyward’s voice grew with every word, as it was suggested to the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive captain that turnovers were the culprit for their loss to the Buffalo Bills.

There is no denying that Diontae Johnson’s late first-half fumble and the four interceptions by Duck Hodges, including a pair in the final two minutes, were devastating. They went from heroes at Arizona to goats at Heinz Field.

The Steelers shouldn’t be expecting rookies to save them in the final minutes. For better or worse, their playoff hopes rely upon a defense loaded with 10 first-round picks, a handful of Pro Bowlers and a pair of defensive player of the year candidates.

And that defense blew a fourth-quarter lead in the 17-10 loss to the Bills on Sunday night, allowing what Heyward deemed “critical plays” in giving up back-to-back scoring drives.

On the first, the defense did its job. Tre’Davious White returned an interception 49 yards to the 18, and the Steelers didn’t give up a yard on seven plays in holding the Bills to a 36-yard Stephen Hauschka field goal that tied the game at 10-10.

The second one, however, was a killer: A six-play, 70-yard drive that started with Josh Allen’s 40-yard pass to John Brown down the left sideline and ended with a 14-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tyler Kroft on a third-and-goal for the lead.

“What did the offense have to do with that?” Heyward said. “We had them at third-and-15. What were we thinking? It’s an advantageous situation for the defense, and we didn’t get off the damn field. When we don’t get off the field and we make our offense drive the whole field to get a touchdown, it’s hard.”

It was hard for the Steelers to recover from that deficit, with the Bills pressuring Hodges in the pocket and secondary sitting back on deep passes. Twice, the Steelers moved the ball deep into Buffalo territory — well within range for kicker Chris Boswell — only to have Hodges throw interceptions in the end zone.

The Bills’ seven-point lead left the Steelers no choice.

“That’s a good defense,” Heyward said of the Bills. “But there’s a situation where we’ve got to make a stop. Surrender three. I think we got to a point where we were in field-goal range — we got there twice. We gave up turnovers late but I don’t look at it as the offense had to do anything else. I think the defense had to get off the field. We had to surrender three points and we did not. We did not get the job done.”

Mike Tomlin got straight to the point: The Steelers pride themselves in making significant plays in significant moments. The Bills’ defense made those plays. The Steelers simply did not.

Buffalo had almost as many yards rushing (130) as it did passing (131), and owned a nearly five-minute, time-of-possession edge as a result. The Bills converted 43% (6 of 14) on third downs, including the game-winning touchdown.

“As a defense, we thrive on having the pressure on us,” said Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt, a defensive player of the year candidate along with free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. “We weren’t able to make the big stops when we actually needed to. That’s a credit to them because they made them when they needed to.”

That the Bills scored only three points off five turnovers is a credit to the Steelers’ defense. But the Steelers forced only two turnovers — a fumble recovery and an interception — and neither led to any points.

“That’s what every dominant defense wants to do, regardless of what your offense is doing,” Steelers inside linebacker Vince Williams said. “The job of the defense is to get the ball, take it away from the offense as quickly as possible and put the offense in position to score. We didn’t do that enough to win.”

The Steelers did have their chances, especially after cornerback Steve Nelson returned a pick to the Bills’ 20 — only to see Johnson lose a fumble at the 9. This was a game of blown opportunities for the Steelers.

None proved bigger than the go-ahead touchdown drive. On a first-and-10 at the Steelers 15, the Bills handed it to Devin Singletary who ran off right tackle. Steelers defensive end Tyson Alualu stripped him but in a pile of big bodies the loose ball was recovered by a wide receiver, John Brown. Two plays later, Allen found Kroft open in the end zone for a touchdown.

“We expect ourselves to be able to come through in those situations,” Steelers cornerback Joe Haden said. “We feel like we have the defense to not let them score touchdowns, at least minimize them to field goals. We didn’t play to the best of our ability. … We definitely could have played better to help us win.”

It was another lost opportunity for the Steelers (8-6), who are clinging to playoff contention with two games remaining. They have blown fourth-quarter leads against San Francisco, Baltimore and Buffalo, with the last two coming at home. And it’s not like the Steelers haven’t played in close games, as 10 of 14 have been decided by a touchdown or less this season.

That has to wear on this team, especially the defense. No wonder Williams nearly doubled over in laughter when I asked him if this felt like a playoff game.

“Every game,” Williams said, “feels like a playoff game right now.”

So, the Steelers have put themselves in a precarious position. They have no choice but to beat the New York Jets next week so they don’t have beat the Ravens on the road to clinch a wild-card berth. They know their best offense is a great defense, and the Bills game proved that it might be their only way to win.

“We backed ourselves into a corner but we’re going to come out swinging,” Williams said. “It’s just another piece to our story. We’ve been through so much adversity this year that this don’t surprise me at all.”

It might not surprise the Steelers, but the defensive disappointment should disgust them. The Bills got off the field. The Steelers did not. When it came to making a significant play in the most significant moment, the Steelers’ defense did not get the job done.

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