Remember all the storylines after the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 3 performance against the Los Angeles Chargers, where they temporarily proved themselves to be the best defense in the NFL? I think that idea is making a comeback.
The Steelers just took on the No. 1 scoring offense in the NFL and held it to just 16 points. They somehow managed to beat their average points allowed per game of 16.2. The Baltimore Ravens were previously scoring 31.8 points per game and were held to nearly half of that total against the Steelers.
Count Dan Orlovsky as one analyst who is now a true believer in the Steelers’ defense.
“Thoroughly impressed with Steelers defense,” Orlovsky wrote on X. “Absolutely SB caliber.”
Over the first 10 weeks of the season, the Ravens had scored 40 or more points on three occasions, and 30 or more in 60 percent of their games. Their previous low was 20 points in their season-opening loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Again, the Steelers held them to just 16.
That was largely powered by three takeaways, with big plays coming from Nick Herbig, Patrick Queen, and Payton Wilson. All three of those players are in their first or second year with the team to give an idea of how well the Steelers have incorporated new pieces into their already-established defense.
The Ravens’ excellence has gone beyond just scoring points, too. They had the best total offense in the league with 440.2 yards per game, including a league-best 182.6 per game on the ground. They had just 329 total yards against the Steelers, with 205 through the air and 124 on the ground. That is their second-worst rushing total this season, behind only the Cincinnati Bengals last week. That game was a shootout.
Entering Week 10 against the Commanders, the Steelers had only faced one top-16 offense in the league. That was the Atlanta Falcons, who are barely in the top half of the league. We knew we were going to learn a ton about the defense after back-to-back games against the Commanders and Ravens. They passed the test with flying colors, especially when you consider a failed fake punt all but spotted the Commanders a free touchdown against the Steelers’ defense.
How often can a team beat a top offense in the league without scoring a single touchdown?
Expect the Steelers’ defense to rightfully garner a lot of praise this week.
