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5 biggest reasons the Pittsburgh Steelers are Super Bowl bound

By Casey Sadekoski

TAMPA - FEBRUARY 1: Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers hoists the Lombardi Trophy after his team's 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals during Super Bowl XLIII at Raymond James Stadium on February 1, 2009 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)
TAMPA - FEBRUARY 1: Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers hoists the Lombardi Trophy after his team's 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals during Super Bowl XLIII at Raymond James Stadium on February 1, 2009 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images) /
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Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

The Pittsburgh Steelers defense was one of the best in the league in 2019. They have a chance to be the best in 2019.

The Steelers defense led the league in turnovers and sacks in 2019. They saw an influx of electric plays when Minkah Fitzpatrick was brought in. This defense managed to nearly carry one of the worst performing offenses in the league to the playoffs. This defense is a major reason why the Steelers are Super Bowl bound.

Continuity

The Steelers are returning practically every starter on their all-star defense in 2020. Mark Barron and Javon Hargrave are the two biggest losses. However, the loss of Barron shouldn’t be that bad with Devin Bush ready to take a large step forward in year two. Hargrave was an amazing rotational lineman but with how great of a defensive line the Steelers have, it shouldn’t be an issue.

Healthy

The defense stayed mostly healthy in 2019. However, the second most crucial injury to the Steelers in 2019 was to that of Stephon Tuitt. He was a monster in the first quarter of the season. By the time he went down in his 6th game of the season he had posted 3.5 sacks on 7 quarter back hits. He was a stuffer in the run game posting 22 tackles and 6 tackles for a loss per ProFootballReference. In a division with the best running team in football, the Steelers will have their best run stopper on the team back. Two put that in perspective in the week 5 match up with the ravens, when Tuitt was still in, the defense held the Ravens to 3.5 yards per carry(their lowest average for a single game) per Fox Sports.

The young core should improve even more

Devin Bush looked electric in the first half of the season. Per ESPN he had 66 tackles through the first 8 games of the season. He also tallied one sack, two interceptions, and four fumble recoveries. In the last 8 games he would only tally 43 tackles and force one fumble. But with him having a full year of NFL experience under his belt he should be able to carry his production through the whole season this year. Tj Watt was in consideration for Defensive Player of the Year talks in 2019. With another great pass rusher back in Stephon Tuitt teams will have to pick their poison. With Keith Butler being so good at scheming pressure for his defense(the Steelers have led the league or tied for the league lead in sacks in 3 consecutive seasons) Tj watt will continue to put up monster numbers. Finally, Minkah Fitzpatrick will have had a full season of experience on his new team and an offseason to prepare. This young, super-talented, core will look even better next season.

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