Mike Tomlin’s Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense had been no stranger to criticism, especially on the back of a four-game losing streak to end the regular season, capped with a Wild Card playoff loss. Though the offense wasn’t without blame in those losses, it was the league’s highest-paid defense that allowed 400+ yards in three of five games that should be under plenty of scrutiny.
Otherworldly edge rusher T.J. Watt failed to register a stat over his final two games. Donte Jackson allowed a perfect passer rating (158.3) in two of his final four games, giving up a touchdown as the nearest defender in coverage in four of those five losses to close out the year per NFL Next Gen Stats.