Despite a healthy T.J. Watt and defensive line throughout the season, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ sack production is abnormal. Often at or near the top of the league, they’re closer to the bottom this season with just 25 through 11 games. Watt is on pace to finish with *only* 11.5 of them, which would be his lowest in a non-injury season since his rookie year. DC Teryl Austin thinks opposing offenses are one of many reasons for it.
“We face a lot of max protection and three-man routes,” Austin told reporters via the PPG’s Ray Fittipaldo. “That’s probably a component of it. Guys get the ball out of their hands quickly. I don’t think there is one particular reason. And we have to help our guys to free them up and get pressure.”
There’s certainly truth to all of that. Teams revolve their game plans around handling T.J. Watt, often using two or three people to slow him down. That puts fewer out in the pattern but gives the quarterback additional time to throw.
When teams choose to send all five out into the pattern, the ball is designed to come out quicker. Per PFF, here are the snap-to-throw times of some of the recent quarterbacks Pittsburgh has faced.
Jameis Winston/Cleveland – 2.96 seconds
Lamar Jackson/Baltimore – 3.38 seconds
Jayden Daniels/Washington – 2.47 seconds
Daniel Jones/New York Giants – 2.54 seconds
Aaron Rodgers/New York Jets – 2.37 seconds
A mixed bag. Winston held onto the ball for nearly three seconds while Jackson closed in on 3.5 seconds, an eternity in the NFL. But Daniels, Jones, and Rodgers all got the ball out in a hurry (the NFL average is roughly 2.75 seconds).
While all of that might be true, it’s nothing new for the Steelers’ defense. They’ve been one of the top rush teams for the last seven seasons, routinely recording 50-plus a season. Offenses have always kept extra people in to deal with Watt and hoped to get the ball out quickly when he was singled-up.
Injuries have played a role, rarely having Nick Herbig, Alex Highsmith, and Watt all healthy in the lineup. But some of the issues are simply on the players and scheme. Teryl Austin and this defense are blitzing at a low rate, 25.7-percent of the time per our charting. That number rose with more aggressive game plans against the athletic Daniels and Jackson. Sending more people will create more 1v1 rushes, especially for Watt, and increase the number of sacks. But that comes at the cost of having fewer players in coverage, a delicate balance for a coordinator to walk.
Any defense’s goal is to get home with four and drop seven into coverage. That’s been the Steelers’ game plan for most of the season and to their credit, it’s often worked. But getting into the home stretch and hardest part of the schedule, they may have to change things up to get pressure and make game-changing plays.
