Jan 12, 2017 5 min read

PITTSBURGH – Old and slow.

Those were the words used by then-NFL analyst Warren Sapp to describe the Steelers defense prior to the 2011 season.

Pittsburgh would go on to lead the NFL in total defense that season but was upset by the Denver Broncos and quarterback Tim Tebow in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.

Sapp was perhaps a year early on his pronouncement, but he certainly wasn’t far off.

The Steelers were forced to rebuild an aging defense starting in 2012 as such defensive stalwarts as Troy Polamalu, Casey Hampton, James Farrior, Ike Taylor and Brett Keisel retired.

When the Steelers head to Kansas City Sunday to play the Chiefs in an AFC Divisional playoff game, they’ll feature a defense that is one of the youngest and fastest in the NFL.

Eight of the players expected to start against the Chiefs have three years of NFL experience or less. Only two defensive starters, linebackers Lawrence Timmons and James Harrison, are older than 30, and Timmons, a 10-year veteran is just 30.

Linebackers Bud Dupree and Ryan Shazier, defensive end Stephon Tuitt, cornerback Artie Burns and safety Mike Mitchell are among the fastest players in the league at their respective positions.

The Steelers have started three rookies for the majority of this season – Burns, safety Sean Davis and nose tackle Javon Hargrave – adding them to a defense that includes third-year players in Shazier, Tuitt and cornerback Ross Cockrell and second-year players in Dupree and defensive end L.T. Walton.

The growth of that unit has been visible as the season has worn on. Pittsburgh’s 27 sacks in the final eight games of the regular season were tied for the most in the NFL over that period, and the Steelers added five more in last week’s 30-12 playoff win over Miami.

The defense also got more stingy. The Steelers were 24th in the NFL in total defense and were allowing 21.4 points per game after eight games. They have allowed 18.7 points per game over their past nine games and finished the regular season 12th in the NFL in total defense.

More important, since losing, 35-30, to Dallas in Week 10, a game in which the defense allowed two touchdowns in the closing two minutes, the Steelers rattled off eight consecutive wins.

“We’ve evolved schematically, but we’ve probably evolved schematically because of the evolution of the individuals that execute the schematics,” admitted head coach Mike Tomlin.

The Steelers’ young defensive players are no longer inexperienced.

And their experienced defensive players are playing at a high level.

In last week’s win over Miami, the Steelers’ three most experienced defensive players – Harrison, Timmons and Mitchell – combined for 32 tackles, 4.5 sacks, three tackles for losses and two forced fumbles.

The play of the 38-year-old Harrison, one of the players cited by Sapp in 2011 as being old and slow, caught the eye of Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith.

“He is still playing at a really high level. He is still playing, still going,” Smith said. “He hasn’t slowed down much. He makes plays all over the place. He isn’t just rushing the passer. He moves around, drops into coverage. He has been in that system for a long time. He knows it well. He is still playing at a high level for an old guy.”

Perhaps playing with so many young guys has renewed Harrison.

“He’s going to play forever. He’s the definition of the Fountain of Youth,” said Tuitt. “I see this guy every day. I train with this guy and also get treatment with this guy. This guy takes everything he does seriously. I look up to that guy. For the guy to play that long, he must be doing something right. He just does everything the right way and that’s why he is who he is.

“He’s still the icon of the Steelers. He’s still part of that Super Bowl team the Steelers won. He’s the mentor. He’s the guy all the young guys, including myself, look up to. We’re blessed for him to still be here, blessed that he’s still making plays. He’s an amazing player.”

Having that veteran presence to lean upon has been critical for the Steelers’ young defenders and helped them through the learning process.

And the knowledge they’ve gained has allowed them to play the game at a faster pace.

“The older they get, the more they understand the game, the faster they’re going to be,” said defensive coordinator Keith Butler. “Not only because of their talents, but because of their knowledge.”

Tight end Ladarius Green (concussion), linebacker Anthony Chickillo (ankle) and defensive end Ricardo Mathews (ankle) did not practice Thursday. … Dupree (shin) and running back Fitzgerald Toussaint (concussion) were limited. … The Chiefs did not have any players miss practice Thursday.