New Pittsburgh Steelers SS DeShon Elliott won’t be a Pro Bowler or All-Pro. He won’t be recognized by the national media on a defense full of stars. Minkah Fitzpatrick, T.J. Watt, emerging players in Keeanu Benton and Joey Porter Jr. But when signed, we noted Elliott was the perfect fit and filled exactly the need Pittsburgh had. A true strong safety who could thump against the run and have enough range in coverage.
Elliott had an impressive debut, coming away with his first interception with the Steelers. He followed that with an encore performance Sunday against the Denver Broncos. The sequel might’ve been better than the original, too.
Let’s break it down by his run and pass defense.
Run Defense
Most memorable play of the game. A 3rd-and-1 tackle for loss of four. Elliott flies through the B-gap between left tackle and left guard, busting through on this duo block where no one picked him up. Elliott crucially finishes the play with the wrap-up tackle, forcing the punt.
The hidden factor of this play was Denver being late to the line. QB Bo Nix didn’t break the huddle until there were 10 seconds left. The Broncos still attempted a motion and snapped the ball right at zero, aiding Elliott to time the snap and fly in.
But don’t forget about the tackle Elliott had on the play before. After CB Beanie Bishop Jr. overran a play and allowed a cutback lane, it was Elliott who made a forceful stop on WR Josh Reynolds one yard short of the sticks. The next play was Elliott’s TFL above. Hidden play in this game.
Another run stuff. Here, Elliott is filling the alley to the bottom of the screen. LOLB T.J. Watt is responsible for setting the edge and turning the back inside. Watt forces the back to cut up and Elliott matches him, filling the alley along with DT Montravius Adams for a short gain on 1st and 10.
Denver had little success on the ground, putting it in a constant barrage of third and longs or forced to throw early, putting pressure on Nix to carry the team.
Another fourth quarter example. Great clip of Elliott being physical and overpowering WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey who, despite his name, is a big guy at a listed 6-4, 225 pounds. Elliott, along with Watt, help collapse things down on the front side and combine to make another TFL.
Coverage
DeShon Elliott made plays in coverage, too. Early rep. Steelers in Cover 2 to this two-receiver side. CB Joey Porter Jr. responsible for the flat with Elliott deep-half over the top.
Porter passes his underneath route off and with no other threats, gets vertical and squeezes the 7-route by No. 80. Makes it a tougher throw but Elliott does a nice job reading and breaking over the top, taking a perfect angle to the catch point and timing the catch point well to avoid early contact and a penalty.
The throw is high and incomplete.
Late in the game as Denver’s trying to punch it in for the first time all day. Right before the two-minute warning. Steelers are in Cover 1 (man-free) over No. 2 in the slot, again on No. 80. Switch route with No. 2 running outside and becoming new No. 1.
Nice job by Elliott to go over the rub and not get caught underneath or trapped by Porter and the Broncos wide receiver. Sticky coverage and is all over Nix’s target. Throw is well behind, perhaps influenced by Elliott playing it so well, but even if it was on target, Elliott’s got a great chance to make a play on it.
Forces the incompletion and the Broncos end up settling for a field goal. And then opted against the onside kick. For…reasons.
Overall, impressive day for DeShon Elliott. Run defense and coverage. He finished the day with a team-high nine total tackles, one tackle for loss (but was in on others, as shown above) and one clear incompletion forced and arguably two.
He’s allowed Minkah Fitzpatrick to play true free safety. That’s the biggest advantage of all. A reason why teams aren’t throwing down the middle too often on Pittsburgh and have to do something tricky to test it, like Denver’s Wildcat reverse to Bo Nix on Josh Reynolds’ 49-yard completion. Elliott is a souped-up Terrell Edmunds and Pittsburgh made a solid signing.
