While the Pittsburgh Steelers tied for the league lead in interceptions during the 2022 season with 20, they only ranked 14th in total takeaways. That’s because they struggled to take the ball away through other means—namely, forcing and recovering fumbles. They seem to be off to a much better start on that front this year.
Already, the defense has forced six fumbles through the first two games, in comparison to the nine they had in all 17 games a year ago. OLB Alex Highsmith tied for the league lead with five, yet nobody else had more than one. And they only recovered three of those nine. They have already recovered more fumbles in 2023—four—than they did all of last season. So what changed?
“I think we’ve emphasized it. We were doing it. We knew we were down on it, so we wanted to make it a part of our process in terms of creating turnovers”, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said on Thursday, via transcript. Note that he referenced their poor numbers in that category a year ago, prioritizing improvement this offseason.
“We were getting our hands on the ball. We were getting plenty of interceptions, but we weren’t knocking the ball loose. I think we’ve really concentrated on getting the ball loose from runners by knocking it out of their hands, and it’s starting to show”, he added. “We’ve got to continue to do it”.
One of the factors in their low forced fumble numbers last season is the simple reality that they didn’t have the services of a fully healthy T.J. Watt for more than four quarters. A perennial league leader in that category, he had just one all of last season, but he recorded two in just the season opener.
Highsmith just got himself one the last time out, as well, bending the perimeter and knocking the ball out of the hands of QB Deshaun Watson. Watt scooped it and scored, one of two defensive touchdowns on the day—Highsmith had the other on an interception.
Aside from that duo, newcomer at linebacker Cole Holcomb also has two forced fumbles on the season. He did a nice job of punching the ball out on Monday against the Cleveland Browns in a critical moment, with Damontae Kazee showing awareness on the recovery. Because let’s not forget, forcing a fumble is only half the effort. You have to recover it as well.
“It was an emphasis point for us”, Austin insisted, about working on the mechanics of forcing and recovering fumbles for his unit this offseason. “I think it’s like most things in football, you get what you emphasize”.
Edge rushers are always a big driver in forced fumble numbers, partly because so many forced fumbles are produced through strip sacks. Austin is just grateful that he has two guys on the edge who have that skill set to pry the ball loose when they’re coming around the corner.
Highsmith leads the NFL since the start of last season in forced fumbles. As for Watt, he has five more forced fumbles (25) than anybody else in the league since his rookie season in 2017. The Steelers have two of the only three players in the league so far this year with more than one forced fumble, Montez Sweat of the Washington Commanders being the other.
