They have the best individual defensive player in the NFL, but it's becoming more than one episode after another of the T.J. Watt Show. The 2024 Steelers defense is talented, and it is the primary reason the team is off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2020. It also looks to be evolving into more than a one-man gang.
"They have to be a catalyst for us," Coach Mike Tomlin said about his defense, "and they know that."
The defense could be viewed as the catalyst for the 13-6 victory over the Broncos in Denver on Sunday, one week after it was the same in the 18-10 victory over the Falcons in Atlanta. Or perhaps the more accurate perspective might be to view that unit their security blanket.
A security blanket, because even with minimal offensive production – 13 points, 1 touchdown one week after 18 points no touchdowns – there is a growing sense that as long as nobody makes the kind of mistake to put the defense in a really bad spot, or even worse to show up directly on the scoreboard as a defensive touchdown, then things will turn out OK.
"We've got a veteran group," said Tomlin matter-of-factly. "We've got a lot of talent over the years to be quite honest with you. I expected (that level of performance). It's appreciated, but definitely expected."
Expected and necessary, particularly at this early stage of a season and a process that has brought together a new offensive coordinator; 3 new quarterbacks and a new assistant coach to work with them; young offensive linemen who either are rookies or new to the starting lineup, or both; and a group of wide receivers lacking proven depth behind George Pickens and a batch of tight ends lacking the same behind Pat Freiermuth.
This offense is neither dazzling nor relentlessly efficient, and certainly nowhere near prolific. The next category comes down to how one chooses to perceive their almosts, used here as a term for the handful of plays impacted/nullified by penalties. Do you view them as evidence of an approaching/imminent turnaround, or as an indictment of a unit still doing the same kinds of self-destructive things in games that we first saw back in early August during the preseason opener.
On the Steelers' second series of the game, as an example, Justin Fields engineered a 12-play, 78-yard drive that historians will record as the first touchdown of the 2024 regular season, and one that those tabulating style points would have to admit was nicely done.
Fields converted both third downs in the drive, one to allow the possession to develop some momentum and the next to punctuate it with an exclamation point at the end. His 13-yard pass to Pickens converted a third-and-5 from the 27-yard line; his back shoulder throw to Darnell Washington in the end zone was the way the ball had to be placed based on the coverage, and then it became much sweeter when the guy known for his blocking made one of those nifty hands-catches usually turned in by tight ends who get paid a lot of money and/or squire a billionaire pop star around town.
Mixed in was the offensive line shaking Jaylen Warren loose for 18 yards on 3 carries, plus a couple of plays where Fields flashed the rare skill-set that ended up with him being the 11th overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft. He used his feet to take advantage of a crease in the pass rush and exploited it for 16 yards, and then he was on-time and on-target to Freiermuth for a 14-yard hookup that got the Steelers close enough to go with the back-shoulder fade to Washington.
The sum total of that possession seemed to offer such hope as Chris Boswell's PAT sailed between the pipes for a 7-0 lead with 1:56 left in the first quarter, but it turned out to be a tease.
Even as the offense proceeded to take a hammer to its own head with holding penalties that negated hunks of yardage and turned promising possessions into just another of the 8 punts launched by recently signed Corliss Waitman, and then upped the ante with an offensive pass interference penalty that took a touchdown off the board, the defense was there. It was there to confuse and befuddle rookie quarterback Bo Nix, and by extension frustrate coach and play-caller Sean Payton.
The perfect example of that came midway through the third quarter with the Steelers holding a 10-0 lead. Payton reached into his bag of tricks and pulled out a rabbit in the form of a direct snap to running back RB Javonte Williams who then pitched to Nix, originally lined up wide, who then threw downfield where WR Josh Reynolds completed the play for a 49-yard gain to the 7-yard line. Making matter worse was CB Donte Jackson was shaken up on the play and had to be replaced by Cory Trice Jr., whose entire regular season resume included just those 7 defensive snaps he had played in the opener vs. the Falcons.
Yet on his second snap of this game, which happened to be the 9th of his career, Trice reacted to having no receivers in his area by sliding toward the middle of the end zone where he was in perfect position to get between Nix and his intended target: WR Courtland Sutton. And the cherry on top was when Nix threw the ball anyway, Trice made the interception like a seasoned ball-hawk.
"We felt like we were getting close all day long with applying the pressure, and to have Cory make a play like that in a big-time moment was huge," said Watt, "but we're not surprised. We love making plays. We love seeing who's going to make plays. We know there are plays to be made, but we're trying hard not to do more than we're supposed to. We're trusting each other, and I think we're only going to continue to get better as a defense."
There were other examples – a Damontae Kazee outcome-sealing interception, and Isaiahh Loudermilk getting a paw up and batting a ball at the line of scrimmage on a third-and-6 from the 16-yard line that turned potential disaster into a red zone field goal. Mix in the typical Watt plays; a sack and two tackles for loss by Alex Highsmith; DeShon Elliott being around the ball enough to lead the team with 9 tackles; Joey Porter Jr. turning Courtland Sutton into just another guy tied-for-fifth on his team in receptions, and it was good enough.
It was good enough because Fields didn't turn the ball over and Smith's play-calling did its part to limit the possibilities of that happening. Expecting such a formula to continue to generate regular season victories is unrealistic, but in the meantime it's working. What's a certainty is that formula's shelf-life isn't long enough for the Steelers to stack enough victories to get into the postseason and win once they get there.
But while they continue working to develop the offense into something more efficient and productive, this is what they have.
"I'm always asking more from (the defense), because they've got a lot to give," said Tomlin. "Obviously, when the offense is facing some of the challenges that they're facing in terms of non-regulars in the lineup and hostile environments, (the defense) knows that."
And what's better than knowing it, is developing more guys capable of delivering to contribute to it.
