Football justice. It’s Mike Tomlin’s favorite phrase. And probably why CB Cory Trice’s interception against the Denver Broncos was one of his favorite moments of the Pittsburgh Steelers young season. During his weekly Mike Tomlin Show, Tomlin weighed in on Trice making his first big-time play.
“It’s just what we call football justice,” Tomlin told host Bob Pompeani. “This guy has experienced a lot of hardship and challenges, a lot of people do, particularly as it pertains to injury. But we all just respected his level of maturity and commitment in terms of getting back to us. This guy lost his rookie year to a significant injury. Last Sunday was his second game in the National Football League. And he’s done anything but behave like that.”
Trice’s story is well-documented. He’s suffered multiple serious and/or season-ending injuries. Breaking his ankle in high school. Tearing his ACL in college and again last year with the Steelers during the team’s first padded practice. It left his NFL future in doubt. But he rehabbed and was fully cleared by training camp, though the team eased him back into action. There’s also been hardship off the field, losing his father to gun violence when he was a child.
Entering the season as the team’s top backup corner, Trice replaced CB Donte Jackson in the second half against the Broncos after Jackson was shaken up following WR Josh Reynolds’ 49-yard catch, getting Denver into scoring range for the first time all day. Trice shut the Broncos’ momentum down, reading and picking QB Bo Nix in the end zone. It was the turning point of the game.
“That play was an awesome play,” Tomlin said. “He was aware, he caught the quarterback in his line of vision. He realized that the action was coming from the other side of the field and he got some depth and looked for work and ran into a nice interception. Things that veteran players do routinely.”
A heady play in zone coverage to understand the route concept, find the ball, and make the play. In one of the lowest-scoring Steelers’ games of recent memory, the 19 combined points the fewest the team’s played in since 2015, moments like that were monumental. And stole whatever Denver thought they could build after fooling Pittsburgh on a trick play.
While a great moment for Trice, the next box to check is doing it again. Stacking big plays. As a top backup corner, he’ll have to come in cold off the bench and be ready in a moment’s notice. He showed he was capable of that, wise beyond his years, with the maturity of someone who has overcome plenty in his young life.
