The Pittsburgh Steelers enter their bye week in a good spot. While their week two loss was disappointing, they have rebounded with two solid games and enter the off week at 3-1.
We have started to figure out what makes this team tick. Aaron Rodgers has looked slightly better than expected, while the desire to run is clearly still there. Despite an offseason centered around the mantra of stop the run, we haven’t quite seen that on defense yet.
If you boil things down, though, the Steelers are going to win and lose games for one reason and one reason alone. They’ve made that abundantly clear through four games.
If their defensive front seven shows up, this team will be hard to beat.
Of course, the NFL is a team game, and you need multiple different facets to work together, but we have seen the front seven determine the outcomes of these games. If they are on, they have a chance. At this point, the line is the most important part of this team.
The Pittsburgh Steelers need their defensive line to win games
It isn’t a secret that trench play is vital to good play at the professional level of football. You look at a team like the Eagles, who have dominated both sides of the trenches, and it has yielded a lot of success.
The Steelers are well aware of this. They have invested significant resources on both sides of the line. The defensive line features three key draft picks from recent years. The edge depth chart is filled with investments as well.
You saw the interior play well against the Vikings. Keeanu Benton finally broke out while Derrick Harmon and Yayah Black are coming into their own. Cameron Heyward, meanwhile, is still an elite defender despite his age.
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We have seen the value of good depth and talent at edge rusher. T.J. Watt is doing his usual things, while Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig have been productive in their own right. Even Jack Sawyer is contributing right now.
It is hard to have a great secondary in the NFL. The rules are so slanted to passing offenses, it makes it hard for even elite secondary players to shine consistently.
The Steelers pooled a lot of resources into their secondary this offseason and are learning this lesson. Each player individually shines at times, but passing offenses can still find success.
When this front seven dominates, everything else falls into place. It becomes harder for opposing offenses to score, as the pressure on the passing limits any offense. This allows the Steelers to do whatever is working best for them on offense.
This team preached getting more physical all offseason. In a lot of ways, that mantra hasn’t worked out. However, if the front seven can play as it should, the sky is the limit. It is the single most important aspect of the Steelers.