Unit of contradictions
Run defense shows growth just as the secondary falters
The Steelers have spent a large portion of the season like many of the road crews in Western Pennsylvania, repairing holes, shutting down lanes and fixing what was wrong with their run defense. The only thing missing has been the orange cones.
Along the way, however, they have forced opposing offenses to seek alternate routes to their destination. And they have — with frequent success.
After allowing Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow to throw for 355 yards and four touchdowns in their 37-30 loss on Sunday, the Steelers and their leaky pass defense might need an infrastructure bill to repair some of the damage.
They have already allowed a league-high 22 touchdown passes, just two shy of the total they surrendered all of last season. And they lead the AFC in passing yards allowed (272.1), nearly 60 yards more than their per-game average in 2021 when they ranked ninth in the league.
“You’re never happy when someone puts close to 40 points on the board and throws for almost 400 yards,” safety Minkah Fitzpatrick said. “We’ve got to get our chemistry back.”
Curiously, the Steelers have
countered some of that with 12 interceptions, secondmost in the AFC and just one shy of their total from last season. They had two more against the Bengals, giving them six interceptions against Burrow this season.
But it wasn’t enough to offset the seven completions of at least 20 yards and three touchdown passes to running back Samarje Perine, the latter of which defensive end Cam Heyward called “mind-boggling.”
And the Steelers used a lot of sub packages with slot corner Arthur Maulet, who played 55 snaps; and used safety Damontae Kazee, who played 26 snaps. Cornerback James Pierre has apparently fallen into disfavor again because he did not play a defensive snap for the second game in a row.
Meantime, the run defense continued to show its continued improvement, holding the Bengals to 62 yards on 24 carries (2.6-yard average) and not allowing a run longer than 8 yards. The Steelers rank sixth in the league in rush defense, allowing an average of 103.4 yards per game, 43 yards fewer than their 2021 defense that ranked last in the league.
“I think that comes down to our defense as a whole,” Heyward said about the 20yard pass plays. “To know that more than one receiver was doing that, we need to hit home more. We need to be glued to our guys. It comes down to assignment football. It comes down to everybody just executing at a high level and being ready when the ball is thrown their way. Obviously, the rush has to hit home and the secondary’s got to be tight to them, and we can’t give up the [yards after catch]. I think a lot of times, we gave up a lot of yards after the catch and really set up their drives.”
Super Watt
T.J. Watt’s interception in the third quarter was nearly identical to one he had against Burrow in the season opener in Cincinnati — jumping at the line of scrimmage and swallowing the ball in both hands as though he had Velcro.
“Man, that guy, I’ve never seen plays like that made before from a defensive lineman,” Burrow said. “And he’s made two against me this year. I would love to say there’s something I can do about that, but there’s just nothing I can do about that.”
Field work
The Acrisure Stadium field is in need of a makeover and will get one on the weekend after the conclusion of the WPIAL championship games.
Much of the turf outside the hash marks and near the goal line was littered with patchy spots, causing Bengals coach Zac Taylor to say after the game, “The field isn’t great.”
The entire surface will be re-sodded and the end zones will be painted for the Steelers once the high school games are over. Pitt does not have another home game, so the field should be perfect for the Steelers’ final three games there.