The Steelers played arguably their best game on defense last night in a win over the Dolphins, especially through three quarters. While Miami made the end result look more respectable, Pittsburgh built a 28-3 lead with 13 minutes to play. And the Dolphins picked up most of their yardage after that point, barely coming within two scores.
It’s the sort of game that those on the Steelers’ defense believed they should be playing all along. Especially their alpha dogs like Jalen Ramsey, who challenged them this week to live up to their nameplates. They assembled a squad of playmakers, but they weren’t playing like a squad or making enough plays.
“Jalen was just talking about that this past week. He was like, ‘We’ve got the names, bro, but why are we not playing like us?’”, Patrick Queen said after the Steelers’ win while discussing the defense on the Speakeasy podcast. “We’ve just got to go out there and do what we do, do it at a high level. Just trust the man next to you”.
“Whatever the call is, just play the call and do it to the best of your ability and we’re gonna be fine”, Queen added, addressing the Steelers’ previous issues on defense. “Because we’ve got playmakers in every single position, so there shouldn’t be no excuse. That stuck with us, and then we just went out there in practice and just tried to dominate in practice every single time”.
The Steelers entered last night’s game down numerous defensive starters. The one of most concern was, of course, T.J. Watt, without whom they had a 1-11 record. Also missing were starters DL Derrick Harmon and CB James Pierre. But they got an interception from CB Asante Samuel Jr., a sack from Esezi Otomewo, and a run defense that allowed 64 yards against a team rushing for nearly 200 yards a game in its recent stretch of wins.
What the Steelers have to do is start stacking these types of defensive performances. They have had decent if inconsistent stretches, but even last week, they allowed over 200 rushing yards to the Ravens.
The Steelers built this team understanding that it was on the defense to keep the games close. I think Aaron Rodgers, at a bare minimum, has met their expectations, if not exceeded them. For most of the season, the defense has fallen short of its expectations, and those others had for the unit.
But when Queen and Co. play like they did last night, you understand what they’re capable of. If the Steelers—offense, defense, and special teams—put together a complete game, they can beat any team they face. Some weeks, they are the team that beats themselves. But they are 8-6 and in the driver’s seat to take the AFC North crown. It’s up to them to finish the job and prove they can make a postseason run.
