You and the rest of the NFL world know by now how good this Pittsburgh Steelers defense is. They’re No. 1 in points allowed and No. 1 in yards allowed, a recipe to be an elite group. But the success their red-zone defense has had needs a little love. While it’s intuitive given how few points Pittsburgh gives up, it’s worth visiting the numbers.
This year, the Steelers have the No. 1 red-zone defense. Opposing offenses have made six trips inside the 20. Only once have they come away with a touchdown, Atlanta Falcons QB Kirk Cousins finding TE Kyle Pitts in the opener. Beyond that, they haven’t crossed the goal line.
That success didn’t start this year. In 2023, the Steelers were nearly just as good, finishing fifth leaguewide. They allowed touchdowns just 46 percent of the time. And as we noted, not only were they routinely holding teams to field goals, they were taking the ball away and keeping any potential points off the board.
Since last season, Pittsburgh is tops in the NFL in red-zone takeaways with nine. Here’s the top five.
Most Red Zone Takeaways, 2023-2024
1. Steelers – 9
2. Cardinals – 7
3. Texans – 6
3. Ravens – 6
5. Three Teams – 5
For the Steelers, one of those nine came this season when CB Cory Trice Jr. had a crucial pick against the Denver Broncos in Week 2. That kept the Broncos off the scoreboard in a game where points were at a premium.
Being a great defense means being a great situational group. It’s hard to have the former without having the latter. The Steelers aren’t allowing many red-zone trips period, two per game, and when they do, they’re clamping down and holding teams to three. They’ve also been an awesome third-down defense, allowing teams to convert an NFL-low 21.9 percent of the team. Something they weren’t last year when the Steelers’ third-down defense ranked in the 20s.
Pittsburgh won’t be able to sustain quite this measure of success over a full season. Sample sizes are still small, and the defense has stayed very healthy to date. But they still could finish the year as one of the league’s best situational groups that only makes life harder the closer the opposition gets to the goal line.
