The Pittsburgh Steelers defense has to be consistent in 2023. It’s a talented group, but an occasional lack of consistency has haunted them over the past few years. Appearing on the 3 And Out Podcast with John Middlekauf, defensive lineman Cameron Heyward said for the Steelers to reach their ceiling, they have to be up to the task every week.
“It’s just about answering that call every single week,” Heyward said. “It’s gotta be consistently our goal to dominate every which way on defense. Because we have the guys to do it.”
Pittsburgh certainly has the pieces in place to be among the best defenses in the league. With Minkah Fitzpatrick at safety, T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith at outside linebacker and Heyward at defensive end, Pittsburgh has some of the best players at their position on defense. Add in a cornerback room that you can argue got better with the additions of Patrick Peterson, Joey Porter Jr. and Cory Trice Jr., and the Steelers should be able to have a top-flite defense this year.
Heyward preached that the Steelers can’t have any weeks where they lapse and let running backs go over for a big game. That wasn’t as big of an issue in 2021, although in Pittsburgh’s first matchup with the Baltimore Ravens, a Week 14 loss at Acrisure Stadium, the Steelers let J.K. Dobbins run all over them with 15 carries for 120 yards, while the Ravens as a whole ran for 215 yards. Those sorts of performances can’t happen in 2023 if the Steelers want to be among the league’s best units.
Heyward is one of the best leaders in football, and if he’s preaching consistency, it’s clearly a focus for the defense this year. Besides the guys already mentioned, it’s also a group that revamped its inside linebacker corps, and Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts should be better than Myles Jack and Devin Bush were last year. Add in a healthy Larry Ogunjobi and Keeanu Benton at nose tackle, and it’s a group that really should be better.
As Heyward said, the Steelers just have to answer the call every week. I’m excited to see how Pittsburgh’s defense steps up and I think it’s a group that could be one of the five best in the NFL. They’re going to look to win by keeping the score low and dominating time of possession with the run game. The onus is going to be on the defense to help the offense play how they want, and I’m confident that the defense will be a strong suit throughout the season.
