Still Curtain
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Steelers Putting The ‘D’ Back In Defense

By Craig Gottschalk

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The 2014 Steelers defense finally showed up on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.

I don’t believe I’m mistaken in saying this.  Go ahead all the way back to the offseason in April when the Steelers made very little headway in moves to improve the secondary – including the Mike Mitchell signing.  Continue through the draft, and it’s all right there in front of us.

This Sunday against the Chiefs, the paper version of the Steelers defense that the coaches drew up back in the offseason finally came to life on the field.

Everyone begged and pleaded with the Steelers front office to draft a corner early.  It never happened.  They went with a LB and a DE in the first two rounds and switched to offense.  A corner wasn’t selected until the fifth round –

Shaquille Richardson

out of Arizona – who is no longer with the team after an injury plagued preseason and going through an injury settlement with the team.

The Steelers were committed to the secondary they had going into Latrobe.  They went ‘all in’ with their pass rush.

This Sunday against the Chiefs, the paper version of the Steelers defense that the coaches drew up back in the offseason finally came to life on the field.  The corners did just enough, the run defense limited a featured running back, and the pass rush caused enough pressure.

Just enough – it’s all the coaches and all we as fans can ask for at this point.

Dec 21, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker Jason Worilds (93) reacts after recording a sack against the Kansas City Chiefs during the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. The Steelers won 20-12. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

That pass rush that has been rather non-existent, or at least let’s just say the pass rush that shows itself only a few times over the course of a game, was present for the entirety of this one.  The pass rush sacked Alex Smith six times, hit him another four, and hurried him for another 13 plays.  He became induced with happy feet, inaccurate with his throws with even the slightest hint of a pocket breakdown, and was largely ineffective when it mattered despite throwing for 311 yards.

There was no big play to be had – from Jamaal Charles or any Chiefs wideout.  After giving up a big play in almost eight consecutive games, there would be none for the guys in red.  A 33 yard catch and run.  That was the biggest play of the day for the Chiefs.

ProFootballFocus graded this defense with 24 defensive stops in which the offensive play gains little to zero to minus yards (an ‘offensive failure’).  That’s their third highest total all season, but the effort was more of a collective one this time around.  Hell, even Mitchell was graded with a positive grade for the first time all season – in pass coverage even!

Stephon Tuitt, a guy that people were clamoring for very early in the season have been getting a good fill of him over the last three games.  He’s been in on 50+ snaps the last three games (all of them wins, mind you) and appears to be getting better by the week.  This young man stepped up Sunday and reached Alex Smith for not only a sack but caused a fumble as well – a key turnover in the game that saw Ben Roethlisberger connect with Antonio Brown in the end zone to put the Steelers up 17-6 late in the third quarter.

More from Still Curtain

The defensive line and the linebackers are finally paying dividends, and at the right time too.

Cameron Heyward

, Jason Worilds,

Sean Spence

, Stephon Tuitt and

Lawrence Timmons

had good solid performances.  Game changing at times.  Those were the names we expected to see light up the highlight reels and stat sheets before mid-season and certainly well before Sunday.  Hopefully they show up this Sunday and well into the playoffs.

It’s the only way these Steelers will have a successful march to the Super Bowl.

Next: Steelers Week 16 Winners & Losers

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