On any given snap, the Pittsburgh Steelers have 11 men on the field. Over the course of the 2023 season, they tripled that number.
Over 17 games, 33 different Steelers logged at least one defensive snap. Some names are obvious. T.J. Watt, Joey Porter Jr., Patrick Peterson, all three playing in every regular-season game this year. Others? More obscure. LB Blake Martinez came out of a retirement and was a late-season add by Pittsburgh, wrecked with injuries at inside linebacker. He spent more time standing on the sidelines than on the field, logging 21 total snaps. There was EDGE Kyron Johnson, primarily playing on special teams but picking up one defensive snap on the final defensive play of the regular season, the Steelers’ Week 18 win over the Baltimore Ravens.
Anyone remember Desmond King II? Initially a shiny new addition after getting cut by the Houston Texans, King logged all of one defensive snap with Pittsburgh, one where he appeared to have miscommunication on what became a Ravens touchdown, and he was shown the door soon after. King went back to Houston and saw substantial playing time the latter half of the season, helping the Texans make it to the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
Top to bottom, 33 players littered the Steelers’ defense. For context, it’s not the highest number Pittsburgh’s had in recent years. But it’s darn close. Here are the year-by-year numbers.
Steelers Defensive Player Snaps (2016-2023)
2023: 33 players
2022: 32 players
2021: 34 players
2020: 31 players
2019: 26 players
2018: 26 players
2017: 26 players
2016: 27 players
The record was 2021 with 34 Steelers defenders seeing the field. What’s interesting is the uptick in players since 2020. Injuries play a role, and the Steelers were hammered in 2021 and 2023, no question about that, but there’s other factors at play.
The pandemic created more roster flexibility, allowing players to be elevated from the practice squad to the gameday roster without counting against the 53. Pittsburgh made plenty of use of that mechanism in 2023, doing so with guys like Johnson (before being signed to the 53) along with linebacker Myles Jack and safety Eric Rowe, the latter two who were never technically on the Steelers’ roster. Instead, they were on the practice squad while Pittsburgh played the elevation game.
Another factor? Specialty of positions. NFL defenses are becoming just as niche and multiple as offenses. Primarily due to the need to combat mixing and matching of offenses. It’s hard to just put out your “best 11” as a defense and expect to win. Matchups are how you counter offenses. The big safety against their move tight end. The extra defensive lineman against heavy personnel. Dime packages to get as much athleticism and coverage ability on the field.
Pittsburgh truly began to lean into this last season. Perhaps Brian Flores had an influence or maybe Teryl Austin, in his first year as defensive coordinator, incorporated more of what he wanted. But the Steelers’ defense had a package or wrinkle week to week to throw at offenses. Much of that carried over into 2023. Their 4-4 front with four true linemen, using three safeties against some 12-personnel teams, offenses that had athletic tight ends who had to be accounted for in the play-action game. Or the inverse and sticking with three down linemen against running teams that trotted out 11 personnel and Pittsburgh removing a safety and adding a corner to keep its 3-4 structure but with cover corners for all three receivers. Flexibility has been added to the Steelers’ defense. Sometimes that’s out of innovation. Sometimes desperation.
For the last decade, I’ve handled the site’s defensive charting. Logging every single snap. Who is on the field, who blitzes, who is targeted, how many yards were gained on the play. In past years, it was a relatively simple exercise. Recently? It’s become a puzzle of different packages, people, and alignments. That’s how defenses compete in the NFL. Staying static is death. It just doesn’t work. That would require great injury luck and top commitment to building out defensive personnel, simply being just better than offenses. Difficult to do and not worth it. Any team with that plan wouldn’t have an offense able to compete (come to think of it, this is basically describing many of Pittsburgh’s problems).
Point being top defenses aren’t just talented. They’re varied, multiple, creative, and employ a lot of people. That toothpaste isn’t going back into the tube, though better health will require the Steelers to play one or two fewer than they have the past few years.
