The Pittsburgh Steelers offense was the story of the game last Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, and rightfully so with the offense accounting for 37 of the team’s 44 points. But, an unsung part of the game was Pittsburgh’s defense, who forced three huge turnovers and scored a touchdown.
While the Steelers’ defense did give up 31 points, they took the ball away from the Bengals’ high-flying offense three times, and two of the Steelers’ takeaways came in Pittsburgh territory. The third was a scoop-and-score touchdown.
Without those takeaways, the Bengals easily could have won that game. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin attributes Pittsburgh’s knack for taking the ball away to the culture the team has created.
“We got a desire to hunt the ball,” Tomlin said on The Mike Tomlin Show. “We got a ball turnover culture that we don’t just provide lip service to. We work at it daily and have since the very beginning of team development, and it has to show up for us in games like that. For us, it’s about understanding when we are in those heightened environments and taking advantage of those opportunities. First, putting our guys in the schematic position to do so, and then from a matchup perspective, challenging guys to close the door.”
There is truth to Tomlin saying Pittsburgh has a turnover culture. The Steelers lead the league in takeaways with 25 and have had a tendency to take the ball away in big situations. While Pittsburgh has playmakers capable of making the plays, they also have to be in the right position to make those plays and that comes down to coaching.
Steelers coaches know how to push the buttons of their players to get them ready and to scheme them to beat their opponent. A great example of this was shown on HBO’s Hard Knocks where Tomlin and the staff challenged OLB Nick Herbig to beat Bengals tackle Orlando Brown Jr. and he did, creating the strip sack that turned into a defensive touchdown.
Pittsburgh will need their turnover culture to come up in big ways down the stretch. The Steelers are playing in a lot of heightened environments against really good teams in the last five weeks of the season and some of those games will likely come down to a few points. A takeaway here or there could change the game and lead to Pittsburgh coming away with the victory as the push for the AFC North crown.
