Mike Tomlin backs Teryl Austin amid Steelers' defensive woes - ESPN

PITTSBURGH — After surrendering at least 30 points for the fourth time in seven games, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin defended defensive coordinator Teryl Austin on Tuesday.

«I've known Teryl a long time,» Tomlin said. «He's very capable. He's very thorough. I've largely been pleased with his work, but certainly he and I are not pleased with where we are right now from a defensive unit perspective and so we're just going to keep working.»

Tomlin also said he's not taking over sole defensive playcalling duties after the 35-25 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night.

«That's not on the table as we sit here today,» Tomlin said. «We just got to keep doing what we're doing and do it better.»

Despite preseason declarations from Tomlin that the Steelers' defense could do «historic things,» the highest-paid unit in the league has repeatedly fallen short of expectations.

Not only did they allow a season-high 360 passing yards, three touchdown strikes and a streak of 20 consecutive completions from Packers quarterback Jordan Love on Sunday, but four consecutive quarterbacks — Love, Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel and Carson Wentz — have produced season-high yardage totals against Pittsburgh's defense.

Now the Steelers enter a Week 9 matchup against a 7-1 Indianapolis Colts team with the NFL's most prolific offense, which is averaging a league-leading 33.8 points and 385.3 yards per game. Meanwhile, the Steelers rank 32nd in passing yards per game (273.3), 30th in total yards allowed (386), 24th in third-down conversion percentage (41.84%) and 22nd in points per game (25.0).

«We make no excuses about how or why we fall short,» Tomlin said. «Our job is to perform at a high level, and we haven't done that.… Seven games or