Welcome to another edition of Defensive Huddle.
Let’s take a look at how the Steelers defense did against the high powered Bengals offense.
The good:
–Can I say nearly everything? Well, at least that’s how it seemed despite the Steelers losing. Our defense made up for all of those missed tackles they had against the Chiefs. They closed quickly and made textbook tackles to end the play. I can’t even point out one specific play because they were consistent for the entire game. No yards after catch. Nothing.
–Pressure. The Steelers defense got constant pressure on Andy Dalton, coming away with 3 sacks. I honestly thought it was 4 or 5 sacks based upon how much they were coming after Dalton. Not only did the Steelers defense apply great pressure, but they were also stellar on third down.
Out of 15 attempts, the Bengals offense only converted 4 third downs. That’s right, four. Announcers, coaches and everyone in between say it every week, “You gotta get off the field on third down.” That’s exactly what our defense did.
–Turnovers. Not only turnovers, but interceptions. The Steelers defense only had 10 interceptions in 2014. So far this season they have 7 interceptions. The Steelers came away with two interceptions against the Bengals. This is a major part of what makes a defense successful.
The bad:
-I know some people might knock me for this, but I really can’t find any fault with how our defense played in this game. They gave up a few big runs, but that’s pretty much it. I thought our defense did everything that they could do. They were put in some tough situations with the offense playing poorly and I thought they responded well to that.
My three stars:
–Robert Golden: I have him as my top star because I thought he played great against the Bengals. Remember, Golden played 99% (probably not the exact number, but just go with it) of his snaps on special teams. I want to point out one specific play of his that I was really impressed with.
On 1st and 10 with 6:55 left to play in the first quarter, on a run play to the offense’s left, Golden closes in quickly on the play, sheds off a block from Tyler Eifert and takes down Jeremy Hill.
–Antwon Blake: I thought all of our defensive backs played a great game, but I wanted to give Blake some personal recognition. I think this guy has come a long way since coming to the Steelers. On 3rd and Goal with 9:13 left to play in the fourth quarter, Dalton goes back to pass, Blake reads his eyes, picks it off and runs it back 40 yards.
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Not only did Blake pick it off, but he was also able to stay in bounds on the return. As I was watching it, I thought the play would’ve been moved back because it looked like Blake stepped out of bounds three or four times. That was more amazing to me than the interception.
–The rest of the defense: As I said before, I thought our defense was put into some tough situations with the offense not playing well. I think they definitely responded well and even got the ball back for the offense a few different times. Hats off to you, defense.
Here we go, Steelers! Here we go!