Here's how many tackles Alabama football missed in the loss to Vanderbilt

Simply put, the Alabama football defense did not play well against Vanderbilt.

A group that had allowed just 11 third-down conversions in the previous four games allowed the Commodores 12 on 18 attempts.

That was one of the most glaring statistics when Vanderbilt shocked then-No. 1 Alabama 40-35 on Saturday at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville. Far too often, the Crimson Tide defense failed to get off the field.

How problematic were missed tackles? Pro Football Focus ranked nine charts for Alabama.

That's nine more missed tackles than the Crimson Tide would like, but it actually wasn't the worst performance in that stat so far this season. It is equivalent to the second worst result.

Alabama had 10 missed tackles against South Florida in the second week of the season. The Crimson Tide scored nine points against Western Kentucky. Meanwhile, Alabama had eight against Georgia.

The Wisconsin game was the best so far this season in terms of limiting missed tackles: Alabama had four.

Nine sounds bad, but the Crimson Tide had worse games in Nick Saban's defense in 2023, according to PFF. Alabama had 12 missed tackles in the loss to Texas, 10 against South Florida, 14 against Arkansas and 10 against Tennessee.

But the missed tackles against Vanderbilt stand out more because Alabama was unable to get off the field at times. The Commodores led with a time of possession ranging from 42:08 to 17:52.

This is not a recipe for success, and the longer the defense stays on the field, the more mistakes, such as missed tackles, appear.

“They continued to put a strain on us,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said. “I stayed on the soccer field. … Possession of the ball just puts more strain on the defense when you’re out there for so long.”

Additionally, Vanderbilt's option offense lends itself to missed tackles.

“That was a new offense we faced, the option style,” linebacker Deontae Lawson said. “Everyone had to be locked in to do their job because one person wasn't in the right gap or on the quarterback, explosive play. “That hurts when you have them on third down and turn them into a first down. This is a completely different cycle. From here we go back to the drawing board. Look in the mirror and move on.”