Stephon Tuitt will be an X-Factor for the Steelers in 2020

The Pittsburgh Steelers are looking to make a run at a Super Bowl after a disappointing 2019 sesaon. Here’s why Stephon Tuitt will be a difference-maker.

Since the start of the 2020 offseason, all eyes have been on Ben Roethlisberger and his impending return to the team this season. After the Steelers suffered through the gut-wrenching play of backups Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges last season, Pittsburgh will look to improve on their 8-8 record.

The Steelers showed just how hard it is to win without a quarterback. Despite possessing one of the league’s best defenses in 2019, Mike Tomlin’s team finished the season just 8-8 – scoring just 10 points per game in each of their last three contests.

While we all know that nothing in football is more important than having a competent quarterback that can get the job done, don’t underestimate the difference Stephon Tuitt could make in his return to the lineup in 2020.

Though Roethlisberger is the comeback player getting all of the hype, Tuitt was playing like a top-five defensive lineman in the league before his injury early in Week 6 against the Los Angeles Chargers. Through the first five weeks of the sesaon, Tuitt had compiled 22 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks, and 7 quarterback hits, according to Pro Football Reference. He also earned a very impressive Pro Football Focus grade of 89.1 on the season. This score would later prove to grade out as the 6th best on the season among NFL interior defenders – topping players like Chris Jones and DeForest Buckner.

Why Stephon Tuitt will be an X-Factor

While the Steelers could feel the effects of losing nose tackle, Javon Hargrave, to the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason, the return of Tuitt should more than makeup for his loss. Prorating his 2019 season, Tuitt would have had stats that were very similar to Cameron Heyward‘s last year. Many believed he was playing like the best defensive lineman on the team prior to his injury.

Though Tuitt suffered a season-ending pectoral injury last season, Heyward dealt with the same injury in 2016, but clearly came back better than ever. It’s also important to remember how young Tuitt still is. Entering the league as a 20-year-old Junior in 2014, Tuitt turned just 27 this May and should still have his best football ahead of him. In comparison, Heyward never made a Pro Bowl or earned more than 7.5 sacks in a season before the age of 28 in 2017.

With an established All-Pro defender in Heyward and emerging superstars like T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick, it shouldn’t take a lot of extra help to take Pittsburgh’s defense to the top of the league. Players like Devin Bush, Joe Haden, Bud Dupree, and Steven Nelson could all assist in this matter, but adding Tuitt to an already star-studded defensive line could give the Steelers the best defense in the league.

There’s no guarantee that Tuitt will live up to the hype or play at the level he was before his injury last season, but if he does, there’s no telling how good the Steelers could be in 2020.