Can the Steelers expect the defense to be this dominant moving forward?

The Steelers were able to beat the Browns 15-10 on Sunday behind a dominant performance by the Pittsburgh defense.

The Pittsburgh Steelers got off to a rocky start on the year, but after three consecutive wins, they are now one game above 500 at 4-3. With all of their goals still ahead of them and a tough remaining schedule, they will have their hands full trying to win games.

The key to the Steelers’ victory against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday was the impressive play by the defense, limiting the Browns to just 10 points. The Steelers also forced one turnover, when Joe Schobert poked the ball out of Jarvis Landry’s hand and T.J. Watt jumped on it. Cleveland entered the game averaging 24.7 points a game and 170.4 rushing yards a game. Pittsburgh was able to hold one of the best rushing attacks in the NFL to just 96 yards on 23 attempts.

While quality defenses have become commonplace in the Steel City, they have been the primary formula to winning over the last couple of seasons. In 2020, the Steelers defense was third overall in points and yards allowed, second overall in takeaways with 27, and was the key reason that Pittsburgh finished 12-4.

This season, while still a good defense, they have not been as dominant and have struggled to force turnovers at the same rate as last year. This difference is demonstrated in the Steelers 4-3 record, although the three losses aren’t the defense’s fault, they have not been able to cover for the offense’s deficiencies like they did last year.

Steelers must play great on defense to win games

With this season’s offense making minimal strides each week, the defense will have to deliver a lot of dominant performances like the one they did on Sunday if the Steelers want a chance to make the playoffs.

The unfortunate truth for Pittsburgh is that it doesn’t have a good offense as of right now. While the offense has had flashes of productivity, the Steelers are 24th overall in yards per game with 330.4 and 26th in points scored per game with 18.9. Najee Harris is special, the offensive line is improving, and Ben Roethlisberger comes to compete every week, but they haven’t been able to put things together consistently.

It is more likely that the defense can come closer to last season’s form than it is that the offense suddenly gets things clicking. With players like T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick still on the roster, the Steelers have the talent to play as an elite defense again, and they will need to.

With 10 games remaining, Pittsburgh only has 4 opponents whose current record is below 500, and one of them is the Kansas City Chiefs, who play the New York Giants on Monday Night Football. This means that the Steelers will play a lot of quality teams with both good offenses and defenses.

Pittsburgh will enter every game knowing that they have a mediocre offense, and while the offense will do their best to protect the ball and get points on the board, the Steelers’ defense will be tasked with making every offense they face look more ordinary than their own.

They will have to replicate what they did Sunday against the Browns, win the turnover battle, and take away the opposing offense’s strengths. It’s high expectations, but it’s Pittsburgh’s best shot at another successful season.