Report: Pittsburgh Steelers Defensive Starter Tears Achilles In Week 10

The Pittsburgh Steelers picked up another win on Sunday versus the Green Bay Packers. However, they have lost one of their defensive starters for the year. Linebacker Kwon Alexander tore his Achilles and will miss the rest of the season.

While it isn’t official, ESPN insider Adam Schefter is reporting that it is a torn Achilles. The injury happened in the first half of the game and was a non-contact injury. Alexander had trouble getting back to the huddle and called trainers over. He did not return to the game. The Steelers only have Elandon Roberts and Mark Robinson on their active roster leaving them very thin at linebacker. For a defense that has won many games for them, this is a massive loss.

It may not always look pretty but the Steelers seem to always find a way to win. They sit at 6-3 and with the Ravens’ loss to the Browns today, the AFC North division is wide open. Even the Bengals are not out of it despite their loss today to the Houston Texans. The team is well-coached and seems to come up with big plays at the right time. This was evident on Sunday. With the Packers driving, Patrick Peterson made a great play on a ball in the end zone which led to an interception. If they can keep this up, they should be a tough out in the playoffs.

The Pittsburgh Steelers defense will have to adapt with Kwon Alexander for the rest of the season. It is a devastating loss but the NFL is all about the next man up.

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The Pittsburgh Steelers found themselves in a back-and-forth contest between the Green Bay Packers in Week 10. Despite making numerous mistakes and allowing the game to go down to the wire, the Steelers did prevail. The team notched a 23-19 win in Week 10 to move their 2023 season record to 6-3. Pittsburgh has some obvious holes, but still find themselves with a winning record. The Steelers have several pressing issues on both sides of the ball which include poor execution and injuries. But as they enter a critical stretch of the 2023 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers will need to make some changes as they make a potential playoff push.

The Steelers have had problems in every game this year but still sit at an astonishing 6-3 record. Pittsburgh has yet to establish a complete game where both sides of the ball, or all units, play well. There is almost always a problem with the offense when the defense plays well, and vice versa when the offense actually plays well. Things just haven’t been clicking in an overall sense, but doing just enough on both sides of the ball has the Steelers at 6-3 through ten weeks. There are six big issues, three on offense and three on defense, that will either make or break the Pittsburgh Steelers 2023 season.

Two things can be true: Kenny Pickett might be clutch, but he’s also struggling significantly as the Steelers QB. Pickett is a winner and often does just enough to get Pittsburgh the win, even if it isn’t much. He’s led them to a 6-3 start this year and he is 10-1 in his career when he starts and finishes a game! But he isn’t making the easy throws and has seemingly regressed from last year. Pickett’s yet to show much development despite being expected to make the coveted year two jump. Sunday’s Week 10 game was no different, as Pickett struggled to hit on several open throws. Even though he isn’t quickly rushed by the defense, Pickett still seems rushed mentally. He simply commits to one or two looks when other receivers might be open on a different part of the field.

The Steelers will need Pickett to step up big-time if they want to succeed this season. He isn’t in the best situation (see two issues below) but he also isn’t helping his case at all. 126 passing yards just isn’t going to cut it for a team that needs their quarterback to be a leader to win and dominate critical games. I am one of the biggest Kenny Pickett fans/supporters and I really do want him to succeed. But seeing his play week-to-week simply takes a lot of faith away from every fan and he just isn’t trending in the right direction.

Many fans were rightfully calling for the firing of Matt Canada earlier in the year. The offense was, and still is, setting record-low marks. Canada should not be the offensive coordinator after this season, but it is not the Steeler way to just give up on a coordinator mid-season. With all of the negative chatter surrounding him, he has seemingly stepped up his game in the last few weeks to create a better and more communication-based game plan. Pickett’s passing chart just about every week seemingly shows that he avoids the middle of the field. A lot of this is on him not finding those throws and making the right reads. But, Canada has to scheme better to use the middle of the field more in order to make it easier on his quarterback.

The offensive line has looked like a brand-new unit after Broderick Jones was named a starter two weeks ago. The duo of Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren combined for 183 yards and two touchdowns against the Packers and had 157 yards together just a week prior. This offensive line is really starting to come together and allow the Steelers’ two very competent running backs to succeed. The pass protection has also gotten better, but there are still some issues that make the offensive line far from perfect. The unit has made a big jump, but I’m still not fully convinced they are an elite unit for both the run and pass just yet.

The Steelers have now lost linebackers Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander for the year. Alexander tore his Achilles in Sunday’s Week 10 game and will miss the rest of the season. This group will now have starters Mark Robinson and Elandon Roberts, who are solid but may need some help. The Steelers could look for external help but there isn’t much depth on the free-agent market right now. It is tough that Holcomb and Alexander were actually starting to play very well. But now, the Steelers will have to fill that hole with a few other options that may be downgrades.