The Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off a despicable performance in Week 15 in which they lost 30-13 to the Indianapolis Colts. The Steelers looked horrific, aside from special teams where they had a blocked punt and some good kick returns. Head Coach Mike Tomlin even looked frazzled on the sidelines as he continued to call timeouts when the Colts were in victory formation. It was such a bad game for Pittsburgh that the NFL caught some Colts players talking trash about a Steelers defender.
Steelers' Robinson Exposed By Colts Tight End
Robinson has typically been buried in the depth chart at inside linebacker in 2023, but due to season-ending injuries to both Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander, he has been asked to step on the field some. In Indianapolis in Week 15, Robinson played 22 snaps on defense which was 33 percent of the total. He was mainly asked to be on the field due to Mykal Walker struggling, but Robinson had his own share of mistakes in the game as well.
In the NFL's Week 15 Mic'd Up episode of NFL All-Access, the NFL caught a conversation between Colts tight ends Mo Alie-Cox and Andrew Ogletree. Olgetree was shocked and asked if the Steelers defense had number 93 covering Alie-Cox, to which he responded in a shocked, yet confident manner.
"Bro, I saw that and I said this is a touchdown all the way."
Alie-Cox was right, as he found himself wide open in the front corner of the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown reception from Gardner Minshew. This was the first play for the Colts after a fumble by Najee Harris. Robinson was covering Alie-Cox on the play, yet he was nowhere near the tight end. Robinson was beat as soon as the play began, and it was probably the Colts' easiest touchdown of the day. Robinson has had issues in pass coverage ever since he came into the league, and it is the main piece of his game that has kept him from seeing the field a lot.
Robinson has shown some windows of promise, particularly in training camp or making a few splash plays in some preseason games. However, he is an absolute liability when he is on the field on defense. Alie-Cox looked at him covering him before the play began and he knew he had a touchdown. The way the conversation between the two tight ends from Indianapolis went, it was clear and obvious that Robinson was a talking point in the tight end room. If he was covering you, you'll likely be able to make a play.
Robinson still is not ready to be a consistent three-down linebacker, mainly due to his inconsistencies in pass coverage. The Steelers are so uncomfortable with him being on the field on defense that when Holcomb and Alexander went down, the organization went out and got Walker and Blake Martinez to fill out the inside linebacker room.
The Steelers caught a lot of criticism from fans following the game against the Colts, mainly because Martinez was a healthy inactive. Had he been active, it would have been nice to have him on the field rather than Robinson. Martinez's first game for the Steelers was against the New England Patriots, and he played decently for it being his first game in a while.
With the way Robinson played against the Colts in Week 15, it would be surprising to see the Steelers coaching staff trust him to be out on the field at all again this year.
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