4 players who need to step up for Steelers to make the playoffs

Steelers LB Devin Bush

I don’t want to keep beating a dead horse, but Devin Bush hasn’t come close to living up to his former high draft status so far. I realize there are a number of factors that go into this. He is coming off a season in which he tore his ACL, and the defensive line in front of him has been decimated this year.

While I’m not giving up on him completely just yet, the results have clearly not been favorable so far. In his third NFL season as a former 10th overall pick, Bush has been no better than a replacement-level linebacker who struggles both against the run and the pass.

Though I think that Bush has outplayed Joe Schobert collectively over the past few weeks, neither has been worth their weight in gold so far. What we are really lacking from this group is splash plays.

Bush has just 2 tackles for a loss on the season (as opposed to 9 as a rookie in 2019), 3 pass defenses, and he hasn’t recorded an interception since his rookie season. Devin Bush doesn’t have to be perfect down the stretch to give his team a chance, but if he can be a bit more consistent with some splash plays mixed in, that could give the Steelers the boost they need defensively.