Steelers’ defense has tackled recent challenges
PITTSBURGH – When training camp opened in July, the Steelers defense gathered around linebacker James Harrison at the start of the team’s first practice at Saint Vincent College.
Harrison yelled to his teammates that their goal was to be the No. 1 defense in the NFL as he delivered an inspirational speech.
That lofty goal might be unattainable with only four weeks remaining in the regular season but the Steelers certainly are climbing the charts to respectability.
Ranked 28th in defense through the first six weeks of the season, the Steelers have continued a steady rise up the chart to 14th following their 24-14 win Sunday over the New York Giants.
It’s still not where they want to be, but after allowing 209, 310 and 234 yards in their past three games – all wins – the Steelers certainly believe they are trending in the right direction.
“It’s all about consistency,” said linebacker Lawrence Timmons. “We’re not making anything mystical about it.”
Since allowing 35 points in a loss to the Dallas Cowboys Nov. 13 – a game in which they gave up two rushing touchdowns in the final two minutes for the first time in team history – the Steelers have rattled off three consecutive wins to improve their record to 7-5, leaving them tied with Baltimore atop the AFC North standings.
The defense will be put to a stiff test Sunday when Pittsburgh plays at Buffalo (6-6). Though the Bills are last in the league in passing and are one of just three teams in the NFL averaging less than 200 yards through the air, they lead the league in rushing at just less than 162 yards per game.
The Steelers have given up only four touchdowns in their past three games but the Bills will be the fifth top-10 rushing team to play Pittsburgh. The Steelers are 1-3 in those games, allowing an average of 140 rushing yards. Overall, they allow 92 yards per game on the ground, sixth-best in the NFL.
Perhaps those issues stopping good running teams is why Harrison, in particular, was ready to quickly move on from pittsburgh’s latest victory.
“There’s no need to get too high. We won a game,” Harrison said. “We have to get ready for the Bills. This week doesn’t matter. It’s gone. We’re going to go in and make corrections on what we did and move on. There’s no time to slap ourselves on the back.”
The Steelers know if they don’t stop the run against the Bills, then they will be in for a very long day.
“The No. 1 thing is to stop the run,” said Harrison. “Once you stop the run, then you have to pressure the quarterback. If they’re running the ball and passing the ball well, you can’t pin your ears back on the pass. You can’t have a team that’s doing both things well. You have to go in there and shut down the run. After that, you want to pressure the quarterback.”
The Steelers control their own fate when it comes to the postseason. Though the Baltimore Ravens currently hold the tiebreaker over Pittsburgh based on their win Nov. 6 in Baltimore, if the Steelers win their final four games then they will be in the playoffs. That schedule includes a Christmas Day game at Heinz Field against the Ravens.
“I know that if we handle the business in our stadium, we don’t have to look outside at Baltimore or anyone else,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. “We’re going to stay singularly focused on that because I would imagine at some point we’ll be in the stadium with those guys.”
The Steelers expect kicker Chris Boswell, who sat out the Giants game with an abdominal injury suffered Saturday, to be ready to return against the Bills. But they will keep kicker Randy Bullock, signed Saturday afternoon, on the roster as insurance. … Timmons leads the Steelers with 60 solo tackles and 89 total tackles. No other player has more than 57 solo tackles.