Three weeks into the season, the Pittsburgh Steelers defense has looked outstanding. They’ve smothered opposing offenses, allowing only two touchdowns so far. That’s been the strength of their team, and they’re ranked highly in several important categories as a result. Cam Heyward doesn’t seem to care about any of that, though.
“I think good execution, it’s not like there’s a lot of yards after the catch,” Heyward said on Thursday via the team’s YouTube channel when asked why the Steelers defense is ranked so highly. “And pressure up front. But who cares about it? It’s Week 4. I’ll be happier when it’s down the road.”
That’s the right attitude to have. The Steelers defense has been dominant, but it’s only been three weeks. That sample size probably isn’t large enough to definitively say how good they are. They’re only allowing an average of around 8 points per game. That number will surely go up.
Health is also an important factor to consider. Last year, it looked like the Steelers defense would be one of the best in the league, and while they were still good, injuries decimated them. They were scraping the bottom of the barrel at linebacker and safety, and it showed late in the year.
Take their game against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15 for example. The Steelers got destroyed on the ground, allowing 170 rushing yards. The Colts averaged 5 yards per carry, and that was without their starting right tackle, quarterback and running back. This week, they play the Colts again, and there’s a good chance that the results are different.
The Steelers did make some major upgrades on defense, with Patrick Queen, DeShon Elliott and Donte Jackson all being key contributors so far. Although Heyward is correct that it’s too early to shower the Steelers defense with so much praise, there are reasons to be excited. Those new faces have seemed to seal some of the cracks they had.
Heyward’s mindset is probably one that the rest of the team shares. They seem especially hungry this year. Even if they are still atop the league when the season ends, Heyward still probably won’t care. It’ll be what they do in the playoffs that matters. Having this much success as a defense should help them reach that goal though.
For now, the Steelers seem focused on how they can shut down the Colts offense. They’ve made it a point to be the most physical team in every matchup, and that will likely continue. The Steelers are hanging their hat on grinding teams to dust, and as long as they continue winning, rankings won’t matter as much to them.
