Kickoff coverage an issue

Falcons’ Patterson heightens concern

The Steelers allowed 225 yards on five kickoff returns Monday night, which was almost as much as the Colts gained on 62 offensive plays. The Colts had returns of 89, 45, 33, 29 and 29 yards.

Allowing 45 yards per return is a huge issue any week, but it’s especially concerning this week with the Steelers getting ready to face Cordarrelle Patterson, who has nine career kickoff returns for touchdowns, including one this season for 103 yards.

“Our kickoff coverage was not good,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday afternoon, 12 hours after the Steelers beat the Colts, 24-17. “We were missing Miles Boykin and Robert Spillane, but boy, it’s unacceptable, particularly because of where we’re going this week and matching up against Patterson, who is the best there is at that.”

Patterson, who is averaging 33.5 yards per return this season, owns the NFL’s alltime record with his nine scores on kickoff returns, a record he broke just two weeks ago.

Patterson was a first-round pick by the Vikings in 2013 and also played for the Patriots before signing with the Falcons. He entered the league as a receiver and has since transitioned to running back, but he’s always been a dynamic return man. He has five returns of 100 yards or more in his career.

The Steelers have allowed 753 yards on kickoff returns this season. Only the Packers (817) have given up more.

Moore’s bounce-back

Left tackle Dan Moore Jr. gave up a sack and was penalized for holding in the first quarter. He’s been penalized eight times this season and has allowed six sacks.

The Steelers, however, haven’t looked to replace him, and Tomlin said his ability to bounce back from poor play early in games has been a big factor in their decision making.

“In the National Football League, you’re going to lose some downs,” Tomlin said. “There is ebb and flow, but you remain singularly focused on winning. When you do that, you don’t tote bags of negative plays.”

Injuries

Tomlin did not have an update on Najee Harris, who exited the game late in the second quarter with an abdominal injury. Tomlin also said T.J. Watt, Larry Ogunjobi, Myles Jack and Minkah Fitzpatrick reported injuries after the game. On a short week, Tomlin said all of them could be limited in practice.