Despite a hiccup in Week 4 against the Indianapolis Colts, the Pittsburgh Steelers defense has been a strength this season. While they let up 27 points to the Colts, they had only allowed a high of 13 points from Weeks 1-3, and it’s a unit that has a lot of talent on every level. Former Steelers OL Willie Colon thinks the team has a defense that is “championship-worthy.”
In a conversation on Breakfast Ball on FS1, analyst Danny Parkins was talking about the talent level of Pittsburgh’s defense and called them “very good,” but Colon took it a step further.
“Championship-worthy. You can say it.”
In a season where no offense has truly risen to the level of one that teams are afraid of yet, it’s the Steelers defense that can scare teams. That’s why former NFL cornerback Dominique Foxworth thinks the Steelers can be contenders, and it’s a valid reason. While the old adage is “defense wins championships,” in recent years, it’s been teams who can score that have made it deep in the postseason. Pittsburgh’s defense has always been stout, but they haven’t had the offense to match, which has led to them getting overwhelmed by the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs in recent postseason appearances.
Pittsburgh’s offense has shown signs of being able to keep up, as they came back against the Colts with three straight second-half touchdown drives, and that level of play on offense is something that the Steelers just haven’t had all that often. It’s a game where the defense struggled and the Steelers still were almost able to pull it out, which would’ve been unfathomable the last two seasons.
It’s not often that the defense struggles either, which does provide hope that it can be a group that helps the Steelers make a run in January. But the Colts proved that the defense isn’t infallible, and they’re going to need to work on starting faster and playing a complete game to avoid early deficits. They also didn’t turn the ball over in Weeks 3 or Week 4, and forcing turnovers is going to be key if the Steelers are going to have championship aspirations.
They had opportunities in Week 4, as CB Joey Porter Jr. nearly had two interceptions including one he dropped in the end zone, and LB Patrick Queen had an opportunity to fall on an Anthony Richardson fumble but was late to the ball. They need to start taking advantage of those opportunities to make a run.
But it’s undoubtedly one of the best defenses in the league, and if the offense can keep growing each week, it’s one that could take the Steelers far.
