Steelers: Ryan Shazier’s defensive onslaught must reoccur in Denver

Pittsburgh Steelers’ inside linebacker Ryan Shazier put on a spectacle Saturday night against the Cincinnati Bengals that proved why he was a first round selection in 2014.

Shazier has been the topic of constant criticism in his two years as a professional athlete, the center of those discussions being if he is durable enough to handle the task of being a long-term solution on the inside for the Steelers. Pittsburgh has been fortunate enough to have sturdy athletes at the position for many years. James Farrior, Larry Foote, and Lawrence Timmons set the example for what is expected from the new generation. To put this in perspective, Timmons has missed only one start in the Steelers’ past ninety-six regular season games.

In the thirty-two regular season games that have transpired since he was selected 15th overall two years ago, Shazier has only appeared in eleven of them. A lingering knee injury in his rookie year kept him sidelined for seven games, while a shoulder injury he suffered in week two against San Francisco forced him to miss weeks three through six in 2015. Shazier returned in week seven and finished out the season with 65 total tackles, 2.5 sacks, and an interception.

There are still skeptics that believe the Steelers made the wrong selection when they passed over C.J. Mosley, who was selected by the Baltimore Ravens only two picks after Shazier. A Pro Bowl nominee in his rookie year, the Ravens’ inside linebacker has started in all 32 regular season games he has appeared in, plus two playoff games, and has filled in nicely since becoming the heir apparent to Ray Lewis.

Skeptics and critics put aside their arguments for one night while they viewed what was quite possibly the best single game performance by a Steelers’ defensive player in quite some time.

Shazier made up for his absence in the Steelers’ wildcard matchup against the Balitmore Ravens last season in which his stat line was a pedestrian four total tackles in a game that he was passed over as a starter in favor of Sean Spence, who filled in for him a majority of the time he was injured. Finally making his first playoff start, Shazier turned heads early and often in the third installment of the heated division rivalry between the Steelers and Bengals.

Never coming off of the field in the 74 defensive snaps the Steelers played Saturday night, Shazier racked up thirteen total tackles (two for a loss), two passes defended, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. His defensive onslaught personified the Steelers’ mentality to break their three game losing streak in the postseason after a heartbreaking loss in Super Bowl XLV, and wildcard defeats handed to them by the Denver Broncos in 2011 and the Ravens in 2014.

Perhaps the most memorable, and controversial, of his actions on the field was a hit on Giovani Bernard that sent the running back to the ground with a thunderous tackle that shook all of Paul Brown Stadium. After the tackle, Shazier scooped the ball up off of the turf and ran it back to the end-zone.

While some see this as showboating by Shazier, it was a smart move to finish out the play in case it was withheld. It was eventually ruled by the officials that no touchdown occurred, but the fumble recovery put the ball back into the hands of the Steelers’ offense.

The hit on Bernard was not penalized, but it was no doubt a scary situation when he did not immediately get up after the play. The line where the hit was legal or illegal is a thin one at best, but does not take away from the fact that Shazier was a key factor in the Steelers’ win that night.

When all seemed lost after an interception thrown by second string quarterback Landry Jones, it was Shazier who answered the call by stripping the ball away from Jeremy Hill as the Bengals attempted to run out the clock. The ensuing recovery by Ross Cockrell would breathe life back into the Steelers’ postseason’s hopes and eventually lead them to a game winning field goal by Chris Boswell.

This weekend the Steelers will travel to Denver, Colorado, in a rematch of their week fifteen game against the Broncos. Though it has barely been a month since these two teams last met, Denver’s situation at quarterback has significantly changed. Peyton Manning is now under center after the organization declared him the starter in the playoffs over Brock Osweiler.

Being less mobile than his young counterpart, this could give Shazier, and the rest of the Steelers’ pass rushing crew, the upper hand in pressuring Manning. While they had an easy time of rattling A.J. McCarron last weekend, Manning will be a much tougher challenge for the Steelers’ relatively young front seven. They may have to compensate for a secondary that was shredded by Emmanuel Sanders and his 181 receiving yards in December.

Shazier’s speed and instincts allow him to roam freely across the middle of the field and aid the secondary in covering Denver’s dangerous receivers. He proved he has the ability to do so when he picked off a pass intended for Sanders in their last meeting, when the Broncos attempted a fourth quarter drive to take the lead and potentially secure a win.

Next: Divisional Playoff Tomlin Tuesday

For the sake of the Steelers’ postseason, Ryan Shazier’s defensive onslaught must continue against the Denver Broncos.