Sep 29, 2018 5 min read

The Steelers finally got their formula right last week in Tampa. Put a bunch of points on the scoreboard and make enough plays on defense to hold on.

It’s not necessarily pretty, but it’s effective. And it’s the way the majority of the NFL is now playing.

Witness Thursday night’s game between the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings as case and point.

Five of the Rams’ top six highest-paid players are on defense. For the Vikings, it’s four of the top six.

Yet that game was a track meet won by the Rams, 38-31, and there were approximately five or so big defensive plays made.

The Steelers went into Raymond James Stadium Monday and forced four Tampa Bay turnovers, had three sacks and hit Bucs quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick 13 times. Ten years ago, that would have meant they held the Buccaneers to 10 or so points.

In today’s NFL, the Bucs scored 27.

The Steelers’ formula has to be score a bunch of points and get enough big plays from the defense to make that hold up.

It didn’t work against Kansas City because the defense didn’t hold up its end of the bargain. It didn’t work in Cleveland because the offense failed to do the same, turning the ball over six times.

• This should not be construed as any kind of excuse for the Steelers defense. It is still giving up too many big plays.

That’s why cornerback Artie Burns was benched against Tampa Bay, though he was rotated in with Coty Sensabaugh.

Burns is allowing opposing quarterbacks to post a passer rating of 151.4 when they throw the ball to the man he is – or isn’t – covering. A perfect passer rating in the NFL is 158.3. And the nine completions he’s allowed on 13 pass attempts have gone for an average gain of 19.7 yards and three touchdowns.

Sensabaugh hasn’t been markedly better in terms of stopping anyone. He’s given up 10 completions on 12 pass attempts. But he has limited the damage, giving up 123 yards on the 10 catches.

Despite the perception in some circles that Burns had a poor 2017 season, his passer rating allowed was only 65.6. He gave up just four touchdown passes all season.

His problem is confidence. He’s not playing with a lot of it. And, as defensive coordinator Keith Butler said last week, when he gets into tough situations, he reverts to doing things he’s not been coached – by the Steelers – to do.

“Sometimes he reverts back to stuff he has done before instead of playing from technical stuff that we ask him to play,” Butler said. “As a young player, you can’t always revert back to what you have done and the hesitant stuff where you have to move on and run the techniques that we ask him to run.”

The thing to remember about Burns is that he’s 23 years old. There were cornerbacks in this year’s draft who were older than him.

He still has time to recover and become a valuable member of this defense. After all, Mel Blount and Ike Taylor went through similar struggles at one point or another in their careers.

Burns needs to regain his confidence. Which is why Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin continues to work him into the equation. He can’t regain that confidence by sitting on the bench.

• I don’t think Chris Boswell is going through a similar situation, though he’s just 1 of 4 on field-goal attempts and has missed two PATs.

Field conditions haven’t been great in any of the Steelers’ first three games. And he’s hit the uprights a couple of times.

Boswell will be fine.

The Picks

A 3-2 record last week evened things up at 6-6 for the year.

Steelers minus 3 over the Ravens: The Steelers are 21-3 in primetime games started by Ben Roethlisberger. That’s a pretty substantial sample size. The Steelers should win this one, 31-23.

Eagles minus 4 over the Titans: The Eagles are getting healthy. They got Carson Wentz back last week and now he gets top target Alshon Jeffery back this week. That should add up to a 27-16 Eagles win.

Raiders minus 2½ over the Browns: Let’s tap the brakes on the Baker Mayfield hype. The Black Hole will be a lot more difficult place for him to play than at home. Oakland is due for a win and will get one, 24-20.

Denver plus 5 against Kansas City: The Chiefs will likely win this game. Their offense looks unstoppable at this point. But that secondary is awful. The Broncos will cover in a 38-35 loss.

Dallas minus 3 over Detroit: Detroit’s run defense isn’t good. Considering all the Cowboys can do is run the ball, that’s not a great matchup against Ezekiel Elliott. The Dallas defense also will get after Matthew Stafford in a 23-17 Dallas win.