With the Pittsburgh Steelers losing LBs Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander back-to-back weeks to season-ending injuries, the defense has needed other guys to step in their absence. Fellow LB Elandon Roberts managed to step up to the plate with an increased role on Sunday and held his own, thriving as a tone-setter against the run while making some heady plays out in space.
Another player that will be relied upon to make up for the losses of Holcomb and Alexander is S Keanu Neal who often doubles as the team’s strong safety and dime linebacker. Neal played 82% of the defensive snaps on Sunday, posting eight total tackles (four solo), one pass deflection, and one interception. Neal was able to make plays in pass coverage and in run support, showcasing what we may expect to see from the hybrid defender moving forward.
The Film
Much like Roberts, Keanu Neal is an old-school downhill thumper, acting as Pittsburgh’s traffic cop over the middle of the field. Those who attempt to make catches over the middle with Neal nearby will be thinking twice before they reel in a catch, knowing that they can expect to get lit up by the hard-hitting safety. It appears as if WR Christian Watson got a case of the jitters as he bobbles this pass thrown to him by QB Jordan Love on the curl route, attempting to double catch the ball. Neal comes in and makes sure the pass falls incomplete, dropping Watson to the grass for good measure as he is unable to secure the football.
We actually saw Neal and Roberts team up to force an incompletion later in the game as Neal runs in-stride with TE Luke Musgrave across the field as Musgrave runs the shallow drag from the trips formation. Neal manages to run step-for-step with Musgrave and punches at the ball once the pass is caught by Musgrave, teaming up with Roberts who puts his helmet on the football to jar the ball loose and have it fall incomplete.
Neal managed to make his biggest play in coverage thanks to a tipped pass by CB Patrick Peterson in the end zone, batting the ball up for Neal to run under for the interception. When you watch the play, you see Pittsburgh drop into a Cover 2 look with Peterson dropping to the flat along the sideline with Neal over top. Given the nature of WR Christian Watson’s route, Peterson was responsible for carrying Watson vertical should he run up the sideline, preventing a gap between him and Neal where Watson could get open. Peterson knew that he had help behind him with Neal in that general area, deciding to play the tip drill in the end zone. The decision worked out perfectly as Neal snagged the pick and ran it out, nearly getting to Pittsburgh’s 25-yard line.
As a run defender, Neal did a good job coming downhill and acting as the hammer on a nail when hitting the ball carrier. Check out this inside run to RB Aaron Jones where Neal works from top-down, filling the alley as he runs into the gap and knocks Jones off his feet with a violent hit with his shoulder, having a host of Steelers swarm to the ball to put the runner on the ground.
Neal made some nice plays in run support near the line of scrimmage, but he also made a crucial tackle that kept Green Bay from getting into the end zone on an explosive run. Watch as RB A.J. Dillon takes the handoff and gets into open grass with S Damontae Kazee taking a bad angle of pursuit from the free safety spot. Dillon manages to get the angle on Kazee along the sideline, high-stepping out of a diving tackle attempt. However, Neal manages to get on his horse and chase Dillon down, pushing him out of bounds to keep the lumbering back from taking the carry to the house.
Conclusion
Keanu Neal stepped up with Alexander ruled out for the game and with S Minkah Fitzpatrick also missing his second-straight game with a hamstring injury, playing multiple roles in Pittsburgh’s defense. He was able to line up in the box and be that aggressive, physical defender against the run while also providing respectable play in coverage, helping force a key incompletion in the red zone and snagging an interception late to end a promising drive for Green Bay.
Steelers Depot’s very own Alex Kozora mentioned Neal as possibly the most seamless fit to replace what Pittsburgh had lost at linebacker, having played as a full-time linebacker in Dallas back in 2020. He has the size and skill set that is most comparable to Alexander and Holcomb on the roster, being stout enough as a run defender while being a better coverage defender than both Roberts and LB Mark Robinson.
With Fitzpatrick hopefully coming back soon from injury, it’s entirely possible that Pittsburgh may deploy all three safeties for a majority of their defensive snaps with Neal being that pseudo linebacker/strong safety hybrid and Fitzpatrick and Kazee more traditional safeties. The Steelers need to find a way to make up for the lost skill sets of their three-down linebackers on the field, and given what Neal showed on Sunday, he may be the best man for the job.
