The Steelers' defense is great as they are and they're still growing as a unit. They have seven starters 26 years old or younger and lead the NFL in forced turnovers after making turnovers a primary concern coming into 2019.
But in a 16-10 loss to the Jets, some may wonder why the defense didn't flat-out win the game. In the stretch of seven wins over eight games, the Steelers averaged three takeaways in each of those wins that propelled them to 8-5 after starting the season 1-4.
Their defense only managed one turnover against the Jets. But that wasn't all about them. They need an offense to be forced to take risks and get aggressive. I'll explain why:
Teams have tried to protect the ball all season from the Steelers. It's been a recipe especially for young quarterbacks to get the ball out fast so the Steelers' pass rush never gets going. Their 51 sacks are second in the NFL and have come primarily off the edge with T.J. Watt's 14 sacks and Bud Dupree's 10.5.
But edge rushers need time to get there. Watch how fast Sam Darnold was getting the ball out early in this game with quick passes like this to Ty Montgomery:
The Steelers' pass defense has been elite in 2019, ranking fifth among NFL teams with 3,032 yards allowed. They've only allowed four teams to eclipse 200 passing yards over their first 16 games. That's remarkable in 2019, especially considering their defense allowed that ten times in 2018.
And when the defense has been beat, it's usually by a remarkable play from an offense in a low percentage situation. The Jets' lone touchdown came on the perfect 23-yard strike from Darnold to Robby Anderson. Anderson ran a seam against a Cover 3 zone defense where Joe Haden ran with him from the outside and Terrell Edmunds had to turn and run from an intermediate zone.
Edmunds doesn't make the play, but he does close down the passing window and force the pass to be perfect. According to ESPN, Edmunds closed down the passing window for only 0.57 yards of separation for Darnold to fit the pass:
That's forcing an offense to be perfect to score. If they win in that situation, then kudos to them. But the goal is to be good enough to force an offense to be that perfect all game long if they want to score touchdowns. The Jets never reached the end zone again.
That was thanks to the impressive coverage group. Even when Darnold broke the pocket against the Steelers they managed to maintain coverage to force tight passing windows. Watch this second down play where Darnold extends the play by sneaking inside of T.J. Watt. He looks for Jamison Crowder working against Edmunds in the slot, but even with the extra moves Crowder can't get any separation from Edmunds and the pass is incomplete:
When an offense isn't under pressure to force passes and put up points it becomes difficult for a defense to create pressures and hit the quarterback even when selling out with overload blitzes. This requires a reworking of the pass rush to be creative and trust the coverage to hold up.
Keith Butler had that ready late in the game with this creative use of Vince Williams' pass rush instincts to force a tough throw from Darnold. Watch how the Steelers only rush three initially, but how Williams is on the prowl as soon as Darnold tries to escape the pocket.
Williams closes on Darnold and forces a throw that's almost intercepted by Haden, but forces a three-and-out late in the fourth quarter:
The reality is there was only one forced turnover in this game by the Steelers and it came when the Jets wanted to look downfield and let routes develop. Towards the end of the first half, the Jets had the ball and wanted to extend their 10-3 lead. Darnold had moved the ball a bit but needed his routes to develop during the two minute drill.
This allows Watt to go to work on tackle Brandon Shell. Watch how Watt uses his inside hand to swat down Shell's attempted punch before he cuts for a sharp angle to Darnold, punching the ball out and securing the Steelers' lone turnover:
The Jets made sure to limit the moments of the game when Darnold had pressure to hold onto the ball and wait for routes to develop. That's easier to do when you're never down and can afford to be conservative and accept possessions with punts.
Make no mistake, this is a great defense the Steelers have in 2019. They've been the catalyst for all eight of the team's wins this season and are the only reason they've been able to stay within a single possession in all but two of their seven losses.
All they need is for an offense to have a reason to get risky and open the window for a turnover. Even though Haden missed on a couple interception opportunities, the Jets weren't in a position to force their young quarterback to be great under pressure during the game.
MORE CLASSROOM
Dec. 23: Line grows among concerns
Dec. 21: Better plans for O-line
Dec. 19: Double-edged aggression
Dec. 18: Woes bigger than Fichtner
