The Pittsburgh Steelers are not a perfect team, but in Week 1, their defense looked as dominant as it’s ever been. The Atlanta Falcons had no answers for T.J. Watt and the rest of the Pittsburgh pass rush. The secondary looked just as strong, recording two takeaways. However, analyst Derrik Klassen isn’t ready to buy that the Steelers will be this dominant for the whole season.
On a recent episode of The Athletic Football Show, Klassen explained why he isn’t ready to anoint the Steelers’ defense as one of the best in the NFL.
“I would like to see them play a quarterback who can move more than one step in the pocket before I’m fully bought in,” Klassen said. “They looked incredible. I wanna see the secondary a little bit.
“I’m still worried about some of the other depth pieces up front, but if T.J. Watt’s gonna play that way and Cam Heyward is still, by some act of God, going to be one of the top eight interior defensive linemen in football, then that might be enough alone to make them a top-10 defense.”
It’s fair to question the level of competition the Steelers faced at quarterback in Week 1. Kirk Cousins did not look healthy coming off his Achilles tear, and it clearly impacted the Falcons’ game plan. Things might be more difficult against a quarterback who’s healthier and more comfortable.
However, the Steelers don’t choose who they play. They can only play who’s in front of them, and they dominated Cousins and the Falcons. Watt was at his best, Heyward seemed back to his old self, and no one really looked out of place. The first drive initially looked rough, but they still held strong. They only allowed one touchdown and smothered the Falcons in the second half.
It’s also odd that Klassen has questions about the depth pieces along the Steelers’ defensive front. That’s probably where they’re strongest. They have a solid rotational pass rusher at outside linebacker, and their defensive line rotation looked fine. If anything, that’s one area where the Steelers shouldn’t have any questions.
Their real issue is depth in the secondary, specifically at corner. Donte Jackson and Joey Porter Jr. looked great in Atlanta, but the Steelers don’t have many experienced players behind them. If either of them gets hurt, then the defense could be significantly weaker.
The Steelers have more than a few mobile quarterbacks lined up on the schedule this year, so it shouldn’t take long for them to prove themselves to Klassen. In the past, they’ve been extremely good against Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, maybe the most mobile quarterback in NFL history, so they’ll probably be fine. This unit shouldn’t fall off dramatically if it stays healthy.
