Defense provides Steelers with boost
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It wasn’t pretty. Then again, for some reason, the Steelers’ games against the Jacksonville Jaguars seldom are.
What did happen in Sunday’s 17-9 victory by the Steelers was something that could pay dividends down the road.
The much-maligned Steelers defense won the game.
Yes, it was against a rookie quarterback in Blake Bortles, who was making just his second NFL start. But there were plenty of questions about how poorly the Steelers defense had played in the first four weeks. It made many wonder if they could hold up against even an inexperienced quarterback.
Pittsburgh’s defense not only did that, holding the Jaguars out of the end zone, it scored a touchdown when cornerback Brice McCain intercepted a Bortles pass and returned it 22 yards for a touchdown.
Witqh so many changed to the defense because of circumstance and injury, it was a much-needed effort.
“I think more than anything, it kind of reassured what we kind of knew about each other,” said linebacker Jason Worilds. “We know what we can do; we just have to do it consistently. This was a step in the right direction.”
Consistency is a word that has been thrown around the Steelers’ locker room since the season started. The team has struggled on offense and defense.
The defense had been able to shut opponents down at times, but not consistently. The offense has shown the ability to move the ball at times, but not consistently.
That changed, at least on this day, for the defense, which allowed just three field goals and one first down or fewer on seven of Jacksonville’s 10 possessions in the game. The Steelers allowed just 12 first downs and 243 total yards.
But it was just one game.
“I’m not going to get overly excited about just one game,” said Steelers safety Mike Mitchell. “We caught the ball when they threw it to us. We did our jobs. This is a game we were supposed to win. I would have liked to have seen us win it by more than we did. I’ll take it. But we didn’t do anything special. We just did our jobs.”
That has not always been the case for a defense that had given up 19 or more points in each of its first four games.
While the defense was doing its job, the offense was sputtering. Yes, the Steelers moved the ball efficiently, putting up 372 total yards. And yes, the offense put the game away at the end, running a 10-play drive that milked the final 4:05 off the clock, something it was unable to do last week in a 27-24 loss to Tampa Bay.
But the offense put just 10 points on the board, not enough for a group that includes quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, running back Le’Veon Bell and wide receiver Antonio Brown.
“I think it was just OK,” said Brown. “We’ve got to find a way to produce points in the red zone. It was not a good red zone day for us.”
Fortunately for the Steelers, the defense was up to the task.
Whether it can be in the future depends on players repeating this performances and doing their respective job.
“It’s good for us to finally do it,” said Mitchell. “It’s not like anything extraordinary happened. We executed and we did what were asked to do. That’s what we have to do to win football games.”
F. Dale Lolley can be reached at dlolley@observer-reporter.com.