The Steelers' defense dominated their 27-3 win over the Bengals Monday night at Heinz Field. Were it not for a Diontae Johnson fumble that gave the Bengals the ball in the red zone for an easy field goal, it would have been a shutout.
Much of that was thanks to a pass rush that sacked Andy Dalton eight times, so let's look at how Keith Butler's blitz set the tone for the game:
In addition to the team's eight sacks, they also hit Dalton 12 times. That's because they started to really get after the quarterback once their offense gave them a solid lead to defend. But even before the flood gates opened, you could see their plan for organized chaos taking shape.
Devin Bush recorded his first career NFL sack on the opening drive of the game. It was the result of an overload blitz that exploited miscommunication on the Bengals' offensive line. Watch how Stephon Tuitt attracts the attention of both Bobby Hart and John Miller, opening up a clear path for Bush to Dalton:
Tuitt's hot start was absolutely something the Bengals noticed and wanted to guard against — I highlighted in yesterday's Classroom how he's been the wrecking ball of this defense.
But it was a team effort as the Steelers' blitz took over this game. The next sack wouldn't come until Bud Dupree took away a red-zone possession with his second sack of the season. This one featured Dupree's speed rush on full display with the perfect chop on Dalton's back shoulder to knock the ball loose:
Dupree said it simple: It was all about being fast.
"I just used speed," Dupree said. "I just knew I would be faster than the tackles and I knew I needed to make a big play so they couldn't score. We had a chance to rush because we weren't in coverage as much. This game we had a real chance to rush the passer."
What he means is that the pass rush got to take over because they weren't playing guessing games nearly as much. Once the Steelers got a lead that forced the Bengals to get more aggressive, their pass rush came alive. The Steelers got their third sack between Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt to stop the Bengals' attempt to tie at the half.
Look how aggressive their front four attacks and collapses the pocket. Heyward bullies his way past center Trey Hopkins and teams up with Watt to finish the play:
A big key for the defense was the offense giving them time to rest and taking advantage of their dominant play by building on their lead. Mason Rudolph and the offense took their opening drive of the second half for a touchdown, giving the Steelers a 14-point lead for the first time in 2019.
Watt and the rest of the defense appreciated that help.
"Anytime you get up early on a team, it helps you pin your ears back as a pass rusher," Watt said. "Anytime we don't have to worry about screen passes, as a pass rusher it makes life a lot easier."
Because the Bengals were down, Dalton and their offense had to take riskier drops and not try to be cute with underneath screens and quick passes. They needed to make some big plays, and the deeper dropbacks allowed more time for the blitz to get home.
It worked for Heyward, who finished the game with 2.5 sacks. Tuitt being double-teamed left Heyward with more one-on-one shots up the middle, and he capitalized.
Watch how he just works over left guard Michael Jordan, backing him up into Dalton before he sheds off and finishes the play with the sack:
Heyward acknowledged it was a team effort, because they were all winning on their opportunities. Even Javon Hargrave and Tyson Alualu got in on the sack numbers.
"Just trying to win our one-on-ones," Heyward said. "If they're going to slide to Tuitt, T.J. or Bud, I have to make sure I hold up my end of the bargain. I did get on the board, but it wasn't just me getting sacks. T.J. had a heck of a game, Hargrave, Tyson and Bud. It was a collective effort and we have to keep doing that."
But again, don't let their performance overshadow how important the offense was to them winning. The Steelers hadn't had a game with less than 70 defensive snaps this season until Monday night, when they only played 65. And of those 65, 27 snaps came on the Bengals' final two, meaningless drives.
Tuitt made sure not to scapegoat the offense for their defensive woes in previous games, while crediting them for controlling the ball and helping them out Monday.
"It doesn't matter if we have 80 or 90 snaps," Tuitt said. "Our job is to reduce the amount of points scored by the other offense. But it was great job by our offense to stay on the field, and it was awesome to see them in a rhythm."
Maybe the defense found their own rhythm that can help carry the team in 2019.
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MORE CLASSROOM
Sept. 30: Tuitt the wrecking ball
Sept. 26: Fitzpatrick the X-factor
Sept. 25: Fichtner or Rudolph to blame?
Sept. 24: Barron slow to the punch
