The Pittsburgh Steelers ranked fourth in both interceptions and total takeaways entering this week, recording 9 picks and 4 recovered fumbles. While they have come close, however, what they have not done is put points on the board without their offense. For HC Mike Tomlin, that is the next item on the agenda for that side of the ball.
Last week, rookie CB Beanie Bishop Jr. nearly recorded a pick-six of Aaron Rodgers on his second interception. While he took the scenic route to the end zone, he came up one yard short. The Steelers punched it in on offense, though, which is fortunate, because the red-zone performance has fluctuated in reliability. Bob Pompeani joked he must have been yelling for Bishop to finish the play.
“I was saying a lot of things, but that was just among it,” Tomlin said with a laugh. “Can’t say enough about the collective effort. People getting out in front of him and working to try to get that ball in the end zone. That’s an agenda of ours. We’re doing a really nice job of taking the ball away. We’d like to get our defense in the end zone once or twice here, sooner rather than later.”
The Pittsburgh Steelers have recorded 3 takeaways this season that have set up the offense in the red zone, including two goal-to-go situations. They also have forced 4 takeaways from inside their own 20, taking points off the board. The lesson here? All takeaways are good takeaways. But takeaways that put points on the board will always be best.
Last season, the Steelers recorded 2 defensive touchdowns, both coming in the same game. In Week 2 against the Cleveland Browns, Alex Highsmith returned an interception for a touchdown. Later, he forced a fumble that T.J. Watt recovered and returned for another defensive score.
S Minkah Fitzpatrick has 5 career defensive touchdowns, including 4 with the Steelers. The only problem is he has not recorded a takeaway since the 2022 season. That year, he did take an interception back for a touchdown. A year earlier, it was special teams that scored off a blocked punt. And back in 2020, the Steelers recorded 3 pick-sixes, including one by Fitzpatrick.
The last time the Steelers won the Super Bowl in 2008, they recorded 3 defensive touchdowns. Tyrone Carter and Deshea Townsend both housed an interception, and LaMarr Woodley brought a fumble back for a score.
They also produced 29 takeaways that year, and yet even that only ranked ninth in the NFL. But the Steelers have made takeaways a core part of their identity this year. That makes it all the more remarkable that they managed to lose a game in which they had a plus-2 turnover differential. But they are 4-1 overall when they win the turnover margin, 1-1 when they don’t.
