There is a lot to like about the Steelers now that they shook off that early season funk and found their stride.
The defensive side of the ball, however, is where we have seen the most improvement. At one point there were legitimate questions about whether the defense could stop anyone. Now it appears the unit may just become a team strength, and that’s mostly due to the fact that the front seven has become dominant in recent weeks.
That starts with the defensive line of Cam Heyward, Stephon Tuitt and Javon Hargrave. Those three have been far more active and noticeable — particularly Tuitt — in recent weeks. Tuitt was second on the team in tackles with seven and had a sack, a tackle for loss and quarterback hurry Sunday against the Browns. Hargrave and Heyward didn’t have big numbers Sunday, but they won their matchups more often than not. Those two occupied blockers and enabled others to clean up the tackle.
“Tuitt’s got all the keys, and I thought he played very dominantly today,” Heyward said Sunday. “I thought he was powerful, strong on his point of attacks, and we need him to keep doing that. He is a wrecking ball when he gets going.”
All three of them have been especially menacing against the run and have blown up plays that looked like they might pop for long gains. The Browns rushed 21 times for only 74 yards (3.5 yards per carry) in the Steelers’ 33-18 win Sunday. The Steelers had five tackles for loss, and the Browns really had only one long run, a 20-yarder by Nick Chubb.
The defensive line is only part of the front seven, though; the linebackers have done their job well the last three games, too. That is especially true with outside linebackers Bud Dupree and T.J. Watt, who are both starting to show flashes that made the Steelers select them in the first round.
Watt had seven tackles and a sack Sunday, and Dupree had two quarterback hurries. Both forced the Browns to account for them on just about every play. It was Dupree, in fact, that was held in the end zone when the Steelers were awarded a safety. If he had not been held, he likely would have sacked Baker Mayfield anyway because he exploded into the backfield so quickly after the snap.
Dupree and Watt both said the plan was to get after Mayfield and make him feel uncomfortable in the pocket.
“The goal was to forget about pressure and keep [Mayfield] in the pocket and not let him escape as much as we can,” Dupree said. “We let the coaches down two times, we let him escape two times and one other time when I came inside and made him scramble, he threw a pass downfield. He made some plays, but I think we did a good job of containing him.
“We were hitting him a lot and he was looking around as the game went on.”
Dupree and Watt are the big-name first-round picks, and Vince Williams has been a steady performer for the Steelers the last few years. It shouldn’t be a shock tthose three are playing well. The most unsung player on the defense, though, is inside linebacker Jon Bostic, who has quietly become a consistent performer.
Bostic was signed in the offseason to, in large part, fill the void left by the injury to Ryan Shazier. He has been a bit of a journeyman during his career, but most of that is due to injury. When he has been healthy, he has been productive. That’s been this season for the Steelers.
On Sunday, Bostic had four tackles and a quarterback hurry, but he has also been an asset in coverage when the Steelers are in their base defense. Bostic leads the team in total tackles (41) and is second in solo tackles (25). He has five tackles for loss and four quarterback hits.
The Steelers will have an opportunity to show just how much they have improved on defense this Sunday against the Ravens. The two teams met at Heinz Field a month ago, and the Ravens won 26-14. Their offense gained 451 yards and averaged 6.1 yards per play. Most importantly, they possessed the ball for 35 minutes.
If the Steelers are going to reverse that outcome, the defense will have to play much better. That of course will start up front. It’s been a while since the Steelers’ front seven has been dominant, maybe since their last run of Super Bowls, but this group suddenly feels like it has a chance to be just that.
Paul Zeise: pzeise@post-gazette.com and Twitter @PaulZeise
First Published: October 29, 2018, 6:14 p.m.
