Absolutely nothing has come easy this season for the Pittsburgh Steelers on either side of the football, if we’re being fair and honest.
So to hear Steelers’ linebacker Joe Schobert state Sunday following the 19-13 win over the Tennessee Titans at Heinz Field that the game “just feels easier” thanks to the momentum created by forcing four turnovers, it will raise some eyebrows.
In the grand scheme of things, Schobert isn’t entirely wrong. The ball gets rolling the wrong way downhill against the opponent and the team creating all the turnovers finds itself in the driver’s seat, dictating the pace of play and the style of play, rather than reacting, especially defensively.
That was the case in the second half as the Steelers’ defense stood tall, forcing three of its four turnovers in the second half, leading to another terrific comeback attempt by the black and gold that thankfully finished in a win this week.
Speaking with reporters after the game, Schobert stated that the turnovers were huge moment swings that really helped the Steelers out after a tough first half that saw the defense on the field for more than 21 minutes, draining the tanks of those on the defensive side of the football.
Splash plays defensively can go a long way towards winning football, as Sunday’s showing was more reminiscent of the Steelers’ 2019 season than anything else.
“Yeah, it’s huge momentum turners,” Schobert said to reporters regarding the turnovers, according to audio provided by the team. “And when you’re playing football with momentum, no matter if it’s getting four-down stops or getting three and outs or getting turnovers, the game just feels easier. It flows better for you. And when you’re fighting against the momentum, it’s not. Once we were able to start turning the tides there in the second half, get a couple turnovers for us, you could really feel like I said earlier, the tides changing and we were able to ride that way to the end of the game.”
Schobert had a hand in the tides changing, picking off a Ryan Tannehill pass off of a tipped pass at the line of scrimmage by an unblocked Taco Charlton, leading to the Steelers starting an offensive drive inside Titans’ territory, which ultimately led to a Chris Boswell field goal that gave the Steelers a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
The game certainly took on a different feel as the Steelers’ defense started forcing turnovers, but once again things didn’t come easy in the end as the Steelers’ defense needed a late fourth-down stop from Joe Haden to preserve the win.
