Across 11 seasons in the NFL, former Pro Bowl center Ben Jones faced several great defenses during his time with the Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans. None of them match up with the defenses of the Pittsburgh Steelers that he squared off against.
In his career, Jones faced the Steelers four times. All four times, Jones came out on the losing end of things. Part of that was due to the defenses that he went up against for the Black and Gold.
Appearing on the “Mind Your Body” podcast with Dr. Audra Lance, Jones called the Steelers’ defense the most consistent one he faced in his career.
“I would say the Steelers. You think about the Steel Curtain from all those years, and that was one of the, I think, the only team I didn’t beat my whole NFL career. So, sitting back to it, I’m like, how? I think they went through ebbs and flows of quarterbacks and running backs, but they always had a dominant defense going from Troy Polamalu to T.J. Watt to Cam Heyward…they always had a defense that were built around a couple guys who were true leaders,” Jones said of the Steelers’ defenses throughout his playing career. “And I’m like, ‘that’s what it takes to be a team.’ You have a head coach for the Steelers that has never had a losing season over 18 seasons. That’s impressive ’cause the NFL is meant to have ebbs and flows, and you have bad years every five to six years because of the salary cap and how it’s set up.
“That’s means that you built something that you’re low man on the totem pole and your highest paid are working for the same goal. And that’s something special that they’ve done.”
Throughout the Steelers’ history, the defense has always led the way, dating back to the Steel Curtain in the 1970s. While the Steelers have had plenty of Hall of Famers offensively, the defense has always been the team’s calling card.
There’s a standard there. It’s how the franchise was built into a successful one, and on the backs of the defense, it’s remained a largely successful franchise over the years, too.
It helps to have stars over the years, going from Troy Polamalu and James Harrison to the likes of Minkah Fitzpatrick, T.J. Watt, and Cameron Heyward on today’s defense. Though the Steelers haven’t tasted the same success they did when Polamalu and Harrison were roaming around, they’ve remained a great defense.
Jones has seen that first-hand, having a tough time getting a win in his four matchups against the Steelers. Having that type of consistency on the defensive side of the football year after year and being as successful a franchise as the Steelers are, particularly in the salary cap era, is hard to come by. The Steelers have done it, though, and it’s been built around defense and having those team leaders.
It’s a shame it hasn’t turned into playoff wins in recent years.
