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There’s a lot to like about the Steelers’ defense

4 min read

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – There is a lot of pride in the Steelers locker room.

And many of those players, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, weren’t happy with the way they were playing. They weren’t happy with what had transpired in the past six quarters, when they had given up a combined 50 points against Cleveland and Baltimore.

So they did something about it.

The Steelers’ defense looked like an inspired bunch Sunday night against the Carolina Panthers.

A group that had been allowing 174 yards rushing per game stuffed the run.

The pass defense was solid, helped along by a nice effort up front by the pass rushers.

It looked like the Steelers’ defense of old.

“There’s something wrong when you’re not stopping the run around here,” defensive end Cam Heyward said. “I think it was just a good step. Obviously, we didn’t play up to our standards last week (in a 26-6 loss at Baltimore). But we were going up against a good rushing attack. We answered the challenge.”

The Carolina Panthers, it seems, were the perfect elixir for the Steelers.

Pittsburgh had been having issues with stopping teams that run the zone stretch play, which allows the runner to go wide and cut back when he sees an opening.

But with its best cutback runner, DeAngelo Williams, injured, the Panthers didn’t have a back capable of effectively running the stretch play.

In fact, the Panthers barely attempted to run the ball against the Steelers, instead putting the ball in the hands of their Pro Bowl quarterback, Cam Newton.

And that played right into the hands of the Steelers.

“We said that when we started preparing for these guys, in order for us to be successful, we needed to step up,” said defensive end Brett Keisel of his fellow linemen. “We needed to get to Cam. We needed to at least get pressure, at least let him feel us. That was one of our keys to the game.”

Without much of a running threat, the Steelers went after Newton, hitting him a number of times.

They even forced their first turnover of the season in that fashion, with Jarvis Jones pushing his way into the pocket and knocking the ball loose from Newton early in the third quarter. Jason Worilds fell on the loose football and set the offense up at the Carolina 17-yard line.

But the hard hitting and strong defensive play came at a price.

Linebacker Ryan Shazier was injured early in the third quarter when he had his leg rolled onto by one of his teammates.

Then, Jones suffered a wrist injury.

But the biggest injury was to cornerback Ike Taylor, who suffered a broken arm when he was hit by teammate Lawrence Timmons while attempting to make a tackle.

The Steelers worked hard in the offseason to improve their depth, especially on defense.

That’s going to be tested now.

The injuries Sunday night meant Arthur Moats, Sean Spence and Antwon Blake seeing got extended playing time for the first time for the Steelers.

Moats was a free agent signee from Buffalo, while Spence has been a feel-good story throughout this season in his comeback from a serious knee injury suffered two years ago. Only Blake saw extended playing time with the Steelers in 2013, and that was as a special teams ace.

If the Steelers can play with a similar defensive intensity the rest of this year, they will be fine. The offense is going to continue to get better.

“Hopefully, we can enjoy this win today and continue to stay grounded,” Keisel said. “Hopefully, we’re not ‘Oh, we’re the greatest team ever.’ We’ve got to continue to work hard, continue to have a chip on our shoulder.”

Le’Veon Bell is showing all the signs of becoming one of the top running backs in the NFL, Ben Roethlisberger is one of the game’s best quarterbacks, as is Antonio Brown at wide receiver.

The biggest question had been the defense. And many of those questions were answered Sunday night.

“We needed a win. We did,” Keisel said. “We needed a win and we got it.”

F. Dale Lolley can be reached at dlolley@observer-reporter.com

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