The next man up mantra has been put to the test this season for the Pittsburgh Steelers, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. DT Cameron Heyward suffered a groin injury in the second quarter of the Steelers’ first game of the season. That would be the last time the team had their top three defenders on the field at the same time.
S Minkah Fitzpatrick has missed the last four games with a hamstring injury, but is set to return this week against the Arizona Cardinals. Let’s look at how the defense has fared since losing Fitzpatrick to injury.
Beyond Heyward and Fitzpatrick, the Steelers lost DT Montravius Adams to an injury in Week Eight. The next week, they lost ILB Cole Holcomb for the season in Week Nine. In Week Ten, ILB Kwon Alexander and S Keanu Neal were injured and sent to the reserve/injured list, and in Week Eleven S Elijah Riley joined them.
Every level of the defense has experienced some attrition. The inside linebacker group and safety group were hit the hardest, which seemed like it should have created a litany of issues for the defense. Those two position groups are typically the central communicators since they are the most centrally located on the field. The statistics paints a different picture, as the Steelers actually improved in all of the main metrics that defenses are measured by.
For the whole season, to establish a baseline for their performance, here are the Steelers’ per game averages on defense. They have allowed 118.4 rushing yards, 236 passing yards, 354.4 total yards, and 18.6 points per game.
| Season Totals: | |
| rushing yards allowed: | 1302 |
| rush yds/gm: | 118.4 |
| passing yards allowed: | 2596 |
| pass yds/gm: | 236 |
| total yards allowed: | 3898 |
| total yds/gm | 354.4 |
| points allowed: | 205 |
| pts/gm: | 18.6 |
The Steelers have played the last four games without Fitzpatrick or Adams. Each metric has moved in a positive direction since they were injured. Over those four games, they have allowed 85.5 rushing yards, 219.5 passing yards, 305 total yards, and 14.5 points per game.
| Four games without Fitzpatrick/Adams: | |
| rushing yards allowed: | 342 |
| rush yds/gm: | 85.5 |
| passing yards allowed: | 878 |
| pass yds/gm: | 219.5 |
| total yards allowed: | 1220 |
| total yds/gm | 305 |
| points allowed: | 58 |
| pts/gm: | 14.5 |
The positive trend continues if you narrow it down to the last three weeks. The defense was missing Fitzpatrick, Adams, Holcomb, and Alexander. Technically Alexander played in Week Ten, but only logged nine snaps before getting injured. Over those three games, the Steelers have allowed 79 rushing yards, 643 passing yards, 880 total yards, and 14 points per game.
| Three games without Fitzpatrick/Holcomb/Alexander/Adams: | |
| rushing yards allowed: | 237 |
| rush yds/gm: | 79 |
| passing yards allowed: | 643 |
| pass yds/gm: | 214.3 |
| total yards allowed: | 880 |
| total yds/gm | 293.3 |
| points allowed: | 42 |
| pts/gm: | 14 |
The final wave of players that got hurt on defense was Neal and Riley. They have missed the last two games. Riley played against the Browns in Week Eleven, but only logged 9 snaps before getting hurt. Missing them, and all of the other players listed above, the positive trend on defense continued. The Steelers allowed 60.5 rushing yards, 180 passing yards, 240.5 total yards, and 11.5 points per game over the last two games.
| Two games without Fitzpatrick/Holcomb/Alexander/Adams/Neal/Riley: | |
| rushing yards allowed: | 121 |
| rush yds/gm: | 60.5 |
| passing yards allowed: | 360 |
| pass yds/gm: | 180 |
| total yards allowed: | 481 |
| total yds/gm | 240.5 |
| points allowed: | 23 |
| pts/gm: | 11.5 |
Despite all of the injuries, the next man up mantra has held strong with players stepping up all over the defense. S Trenton Thompson, ILB Elandon Roberts, and ILB Mykal Walker are three players that have been forced into prominent roles and they have each performed well. The return of Heyward coincided with these other injuries, so his return has also been a factor. There is also no denying that the Steelers have benefitted from not having to play against many intended starters at the quarterback position. The Titans, Browns, and Bengals all fall in that bucket.
The Steelers’ offense started to click in Week Twelve against the Cincinnati Bengals. That will also help the defense’s averages since they only needed to log 43 total snaps in that game. Regardless of all the factors that go into those per-game averages, there is no denying that this unit has been trending in the right direction. It is the perfect time for the Steelers to be regaining an all-pro talent like Minkah Fitzpatrick.
