RH Darius Slay has had enough of the online hate — and he’s not staying silent anymore. After days of criticism flooding social media, the Steelers’ veteran corner took to X with a fiery message that left fans buzzing

The Pittsburgh Steelers defense played a lot better in Week 4 against the Minnesota Vikings. But there are a couple areas where the unit can still improve. According to Pro Football Focus, one area is at cornerback with veteran starter Darius Slay.

The official Underdog Fantasy games X account posted that Slay led the NFL in receiving yards allowed by a cornerback during Week 4. According to the statistic, which Underdog found at Pro Football Focus, Slay allowed 123 receiving yards — 11 more yards than any other cornerback last weekend.

Slay saw the post this week and fired back.

“Now PFF, I kno u lying,” wrote Slay with a laughing emoji.

According to PFF, Slay had his worst game in coverage of the season during Week 4. Slay earned a 55.8 coverage grade (out of 100) in the matchup.

The veteran cornerback helped make up for that poor grade with solid run defense and great tackling (based on PFF’s grades). But he still posted his second-worst overall PFF grade of the season (57.5).

Did Darius Slay Struggle Against the Vikings?

Based on PFF’s analysis, Slay yielded five receptions while the Vikings receivers he covered were targeted six times. As Underdog posted, with the five catches, Slay allowed 123 receiving yards.

But of those 123 receiving yards, 81 of them came on one play — an 81-yard grab from Vikings receiver Jordan Addison.

On that Addison catch, the Steelers were in nickel with safety DeShon Elliott lined up in the slot because of injuries to Jalen Ramsey and Brandin Echols. Chuck Clark was at safety where Elliott would have been if not for Echols’ ailment. Echols went down with an injury on the play just prior to Addison’s catch.

PFF charged Slay with Addison’s reception. That’s probably not a fair assessment. At the very least, the big gain was equally Clark’s fault. It’s possible Elliott played a role in it too.

The best way to describe the coverage breakdown was a miscommunication between all three defensive backs. Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin accepted blame for the play Wednesday.

“I’m going to take that one. We were struggling with who was in the game,” Austin told reporters, via Steelers Now’s Alan Saunders. “And I probably made a call that probably wasn’t simple enough for everybody.

“So that’s on me. That’s on me. I’ll make sure, if that ever happens again.”

Of course, PFF can’t assign receiving yards allowed to a defensive coordinator. The analytic website had to pick one of the Steelers cornerbacks, and Slay was the unfortunate choice.

Grading Slay Through Four Games in 2025

The Steelers signed Slay this offseason on a one-year, $10 million deal. While the team added other veteran defensive backs after signing Slay, it was clear over the offseason the Steelers saw Slay as a quality CB2 to play opposite Joey Porter Jr.

Porter hasn’t played since Week 1. So Slay and Porter haven’t received much of an opportunity to defend opposing receivers together.

But without Porter, Slay has done a fairly good job in 2025.

It’s important to keep in mind that, like any statistics, PFF’s grades can be misleading. But despite PFF charging Addison’s long catch to Slay, the veteran cornerback has been above average this year.

According to PFF, Slay didn’t yield more than 41 receiving yards in coverage during any of the first three games.

Among the 70 NFL cornerbacks who have played at least 50% of their team’s defensive snaps this season, PFF has Slay rated 26th.