Steelers suffer a major loss despite beating the Browns following a serious-looking injury to team captain
The Steelers’ special teams may have taken a huge hit.
Danny Smith is a national treasure in the Pittsburgh area. The special teams coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers is known for chewing about 10 sticks of gum at one time and always being full of energy.
He’s also known for coordinating one of the best special teams units in the league. You think of Chris Boswell and the kicking game, the blocked field goals, heck, even Corliss Waitman selling the running into the kicker against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
But the coverage units are what make the Steelers’ special teams so valuable. And now, those units may be without their special teams captain for a while.
Miles Killebrew exits Steelers’ win over Browns with knee injury
Killebrew was down and writhing in pain for a while before the broadcast cut away. He walked off with some assistance, which is obviously much better than the cart coming out, but time will tell how serious things are.
If the injury is as bad as it appears, the Steelers not only lose their special teams captain and locker room leader, but also defensive back depth. Jalen Ramsey came into the game banged up. Darius Slay left with a shoulder injury, and then Brandin Echols and Joey Porter Jr. were injured in the fourth quarter.
The safety position and defensive backfield as a whole are deep, but someone has to step up for Killebrew in case of an extended absence. Of course, if it got to the point where Killebrew was entering the game as a traditional safety (as we have seen in recent years), the Steelers would certainly be in a world of trouble.
In any case, the Steelers are now on to Cincinnati, to quote former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. With a short turnaround, the Steelers will be tasked with taking down a desperate Cincinnati Bengals squad to put a stranglehold on the division.
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