Paul Zeise: Strength of Steelers' defense is their depth

By Paul Zeise / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Like most of the Steelers’ opponents this season, the Jets offense started strong against the Steelers defense Sunday night. And like most of the Steelers’ opponents (except for the Cowboys), the Jets offense was a beaten-down, battered unit looking for the exits as they were worn down and worn out.

Yes, the stars of the Steelers defense have shined, and that is a large part of their success. T.J. Watt is a problem, Cam Heyward is playing as well as he did when he was in his prime, Joey Porter Jr. has been excellent in coverage, and Alex Highsmith reminded everyone of his importance with his return to the lineup Sunday.

Stars are a big part of the Steelers’ defensive story and the engine that drives that unit to be one of the best in the NFL.

But the biggest difference between this version of the defense and the one we saw last year isn’t that the stars are playing better. Watt was a star last season. Porter and Highsmith were really good last year. Heyward was good until he injured his groin. Minkah Fitzpatrick, who has had a bit of an uneven start to his season, played at a higher level last season than he has so far this season.

The difference, however, is that the Steelers have added some really important depth pieces and have watched some of their other depth players grow into productive players. And their ability to play early in games without much of a drop-off and give the starters a little bit of rest has made the defense every bit as good as advertised.

The Steelers seem to get stronger every time they take the field within a game. And if they get a lead in the second half, they just lean on more opposing offenses until they knock them out. The Steelers defense squeezed the Jets on Sunday starting right before the half and they never looked back. The Jets not only didn’t score in the second half, they really only threatened to score once, and that was a 35-yard field goal attempt that was blocked.

This depth is illustrated in several areas but none more glaring than the linebacker group, as the Steelers have a rotation of six excellent options between the outside and inside spots.

Watt and Highsmith are stars and get a lot of well-deserved accolades. Even on a night when Watt is relatively quiet like Sunday ,when he only had one tackle and had no sacks, he was still the most important player on the field. The Jets had to account for him on every play and he still had two quarterback hits.

But Sunday they were without Nick Herbig, who has proven himself to be a valuable third outside pass rusher. He was playing at such a high level before he got hurt that there were some people who believed he may have made Highsmith expendable. I am not one of them, but it is clear when all three are healthy the Steelers have the ability to make sure they always have at least one fresh option to rush the passer in obvious passing situations.

Herbig, who is in his second season, has grown into this role and he will continue to improve as he gets more experience and opportunities to play. The Steelers have utilized him in situations that will take advantage of his strengths as a pass rusher.

At the inside linebacker spot, the Steelers have added two important players in Patrick Queen and rookie Payton Wilson. They already had Elandon Roberts in the middle but both Queen and Wilson have played at an increasingly high level as they have gotten comfortable in the defense.

Queen was a big free agent signing in the offseason and was supposed to help take the defense to the next level. That didn’t happen initially, as he was inconsistent and almost invisible at times through the first five games. But the past two games, Queen has been far more active and has made more impact plays.

Wilson led the Steelers on Sunday in tackles with 10 and he has been as advertised in terms of his ability to make plays. Wilson is a natural linebacker and has a nose for the ball, and the scary thing is he is already this good only seven games into his career.  

The rotation of Roberts, Queen and Wilson means the Steelers can mix and match situationally as well as keep all three fresh. And they have the luxury of doing that without any noticeable drop in production.

There were similar questions about depth in the secondary, but safety DeShon Elliott and cornerback Beanie Bishop Jr. have answered the bell nicely and, like Wilson and Herbig, seem to get better every week. Larry Ogunjobi had his best game Sunday and has answered some questions along the defensive line, as well.

The Steelers defense is shaping up to be an elite unit and the kind of group that can carry a team deep into the playoffs. They have gotten much better against the run thanks to the improvement at inside linebacker, they have never had a hard time pressuring a quarterback, and an improved secondary has led them to become better in coverage.

All of it starts with the starters and stars, but I am sure the reason this unit has the ability to continue to play at this level is that it has the depth to withstand a long season, even if there are a few key injuries along the way.

Paul Zeise: [email protected] or X: @paulzeise