The Pittsburgh Steelers came into Sunday’s game facing a fresh rookie center in Tanor Bartolini, touting a top run defense. Surprisingly, reputation alone was not sufficient to slow down the Colts’ run game. While they improved in the second half—especially after Jonathan Taylor suffered an ankle injury—it was already too late.
Bortolini, the fourth-round pick out of Wisconsin, held his own against the Steelers’ front, and drew praise from teammates, accordingly. “The Steelers’ front four is probably the best in all of football, so for him to step in there and us not notice anything change, that just shows that he did a great job”, WR Michael Pittman Jr. said via the Colts’ website.
The Steelers’ front four, at its healthiest, consists of Cameron Heyward, Larry Ogunjobi, T.J. Watt, and Alex Highsmith. That’s assuming a base nickel, and that’s what the Steelers used, initially against the Colts. Fellow Wisconsin Badger Keeanu Benton factored in as well, of course, though the Steelers missed Highsmith, Nick Herbig starting in his place.
Our Alex Kozora profiled Tanor Bortolini this offseason but did not see him as a fourth-round prospect. Of course, anything after the third round increasingly becomes about personal team preferences and needs. The Steelers drafted two linemen in the first two rounds.
Coincidentally, the Steelers did also draft a lineman in the fourth round in Mason McCormick, two spots after the Colts drafted Tanor Bortolini, and both made their first career starts on Sunday. At first blush, both blue-collar rookies seemed to hold their own.
While the Steelers are licking their wounds right now, I’m sure they will look forward to reviewing how McCormick played. Colts head coach Shane Steichen is really anticipating Tanor Bortolini’s film, though he is still a backup. They have an experienced veteran center already.
“Gosh, I can’t wait to watch the film”, Steichen said of Bortolini’s play against the Steelers. “I was excited for him getting his opportunity in there to go play. I remember he was running off like a kid in a candy store on that first touchdown. That first drive, he was so happy. So, it was awesome to see that, and he battled his tail off, for sure”.
You may recall that the Colts powered their way down the field the first two drives against this vaunted Steelers defense, finding the end zone twice in quick succession. They found success both running the ball and throwing it.
On the whole, the Colts managed to neutralize Steelers stud T.J. Watt, and Bortolini controlled the middle. It helps to play next to Quenton Nelson, granted, but this isn’t what we expect. If the Steelers are playing against a mid-round rookie center making his first career start due to injury, we should be seeing him negatively in instant replays on a regular basis.
Perhaps Bortolini knew Keeanu Benton’s weaknesses from their time together in Wisconsin. Or perhaps the Colts simply didn’t give the Steelers’ front four the time to make much of an impact. Either way, they get to be a lot more excited about their rookie’s first start than do the Steelers.
