Isaiahh Loudermilk was active on gameday for the Pittsburgh Steelers for the first time on Sunday in the team’s 20-18 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Loudermilk told Mike Prisuta on WDVE (via iHeartRadio Pittsburgh on YouTube) that eliminating mistakes was key for the defense to contain Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay offense.
“I think for us it was eliminating mistakes. I think we did that. I think as a unit we all played together. We’ve kind of been diving into how other units work and we’ve all been working together a little bit more to eliminate some of the little mistakes,” Loudermilk said. “We were just able to go out there and execute.”
Loudermilk got a helmet after DeMarvin Leal was inactive after suffering a knee injury in practice leading up to the game. He played 22 snaps on defense, with one solo and one combined tackle. With the injuries the Steelers were dealing with defensively on Sunday, it was imperative that the group played a clean game and didn’t allow Brady to take advantage of any mistakes they may have made. And that’s what they did, as even though they didn’t force a turnover, the team played sound football to not allow Tampa Bay to find the end zone more than once and not let Brady kill them as he has so many times against the Steelers.
Despite not having the usual personnel, the group played close to as well as they have all season. They got to Brady for two sacks, and guys like James Pierre and Josh Jackson were able to make plays in coverage to prevent Pittsburgh from getting beat over the top. They also mostly took Leonard Fournette out of the run game, as he could only manage 63 yards on 21 carries.
Across the board, the Steelers were focused and didn’t mess up, allowing them to get off the field and force Tampa Bay into a few three-and-outs. They also equaled their season-low in missed tackles, which speaks to the level of execution across the board defensively. It was an impressive effort, and one they’ll look to keep up on Sunday night against the Miami Dolphins.
