Through two games, the Pittsburgh Steelers have allowed 16 points. A total of 25 teams scored more than that in Week 1, with another 20 (and counting) in Week 2. In other words, they are doing pretty well on that side of the ball. They also have five takeaways, including some timely ones.
One of those timely takeaways came from one of the more unlikely sources yesterday, second-year CB Cory Trice Jr. After making his NFL debut last week, he recorded his first interception, plucking the ball in the end zone. He only just came into the game for an injured Donte Jackson, who came out for a minor injury. While he is only just beginning to take the field, however, he knows who the Steelers are.
“From the top down, we’re trying to make a statement [to] everybody that’s watching”, Trice said about the Steelers’ defense after the game, via the team’s website. “We’re just out there, everybody’s trying to make plays and execute”.
Asked if the six points they surrendered to the Denver Broncos was a statement, Trice replied, “Man, you tell me. We ain’t trying to give up nothing though. We ain’t trying to give up nothing”. No team has ever shut out the Broncos in Denver, and they still haven’t, but the Steelers came fairly close.
The Steelers pride themselves on their defense, and they put their money where their mouth is. They have T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Patrick Queen, and Larry Ogunjobi all on high salaries. Donte Jackson isn’t exactly cheap, either, and they also have guys like DeShon Elliott and Elandon Roberts. They continue to invest in the draft as well with Keeanu Benton, Joey Porter Jr., Payton Wilson, and Nick Herbig.
The fact is the Steelers, at least right now, need their defense to deliver statement-making performances. Even though they held each of their first two opponents to 10 points or fewer, they still ended up one-possession games. They may have only surrendered 16 points, but they have also only scored 31.
And that is in spite of the fact that the defense has given the offense five takeaways. The offense has been fortunate not to give the ball away yet, particularly on some fumbled center exchanges. It needs the defense to continue creating the “luck” for the unit, at least for the time being.
On paper, the Steelers should be capable of putting up some points, if they clean up their penalties and errors. They have the talent to find the end zone, and settling the offensive line will help that. The quarterback position still remains fairly uncertain as well with Justin Fields and Russell Wilson.
Fields even admitted after a 18-10 win in his Steelers debut that he feels better on this team knowing that a punt isn’t the worst thing in the world. He never had that kind of defense to rely on in Chicago. Now he has some margin for error, even if he isn’t necessarily playing like it in terms of risks.
