We all know the formula for every Pittsburgh Steelers game.
The offense looks a hair above incompetent for 50 minutes, being reliant on George Pickens’ wild catches or superhuman plays by Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. The defense looks incredible (sans a few blips), but the quarterback play is just barely above average. Kicker Chris Boswell looks like the most impressive offensive player.
And yet, they keep winning games.
I’m convinced the Steelers put a magical barrier on the end zone, for both sides of the ball. They force opponents into playing their style of football, a rough and tumble rock fight that is more akin to the Battle of Verdun than it is a football game (the Battle of Verdun is known as the longest battle in modern history, for the non-history heads). The Steelers just force teams to play into their hands, and just drown you in it. Against a Baltimore Ravens’ offense that was largely considered one of the best offenses in football, Pittsburgh put them in a sieve, holding them to a -0.13 EPA per play, 40% Success Rate and forced three turnovers (Pittsburgh had a -0.27 EPA per play and 32% Success Rate, but hit all of their field goals and didn’t turn the ball over twice). They do this to everyone, but the fact that they could do this to a version of the Ravens offense and QB Lamar Jackson that we haven’t seen before is incredibly impressive.
How they do it, the formula that keeps this Steelers team at the top, hasn’t changed since 2020. They have a deep and talented defensive front who is playing out of their minds so far this season. EDGE TJ Watt gets all of the attention, but without Alex Highsmith on the edge there were a lot of questions on how they would survive. Well they simply increased the Nick Herbig usage, traded for Preston Smith, and kept the machine flowing. Herbig had some really impressive plays on Sunday, using his blazing speed around the corner in order to force this fumble on RB Derrick Henry to begin the game.
2nd play of the game, first game back in more than a month. Nick Herbig forces Lamar to give the ball on this read/option and then chases Derrick Henry for his first fumble in over 500 rushes. What a play. #Steelers pic.twitter.com/NC8OOfDBCk
— Alex Kozora (@Alex_Kozora) November 18, 2024
DTs Cam Heyward and Keeanu Benton make life difficult up front in both facets of the game, but on Sunday it was the linebackers that caught my eye. Patrick Queen had a monster day in his revenge game, leading the Steelers in tackles, forcing a fumble and recovering a fumble as well. Elandon Roberts had nice moments in run defense, and Payton Wilson simply made one of the most incredible plays you’ll ever see, intercepting Jackson on a wheel route that he barely even sees.
Above anything else, they just know how to hang around. The defense knows where their strengths and weaknesses are, and can maximize their strengths while avoiding the weaknesses being probed too easily. That’s just really good coaching and a great culture of winning and success brought on via the veterans in the locker room. It’s simple to say “X team knows how to win,” but the Steelers really do. They know how to win ugly, and they can drag you into the muck and keep you there, which is needed because the offense largely is, well, mucky.
Like I said at the top, the Steelers had a 32% Success Rate on Sunday. For comparison, the Jacksonville Jaguars had a 31.3% Success Rate on Sunday and lost 52-6. On the season, Pittsburgh’s Success Rate is 40.4%, 25th in the NFL and just barely above the 26th team in the NFL, the Las Vegas Raiders. I’m not really sure what to make of this offense and how far they can go come playoff time, because while the offense looks like one of the worst in the NFL at times, they’re always one George Pickens catch, or one big run away from being back in the game. With the volatility they signed up for at QB, this is the game they have to play. They’re like the boxer who just hangs around until the 11th round, when they finally land one that ends the fight. If they can keep their opponent within range for that strike, then the Steelers always remain dangerous, which is what makes them a problem when we get into the colder months.
Above anything else, the Steelers are incredibly well-coached, and they have an identity that they fully believe in. How far will that take them? We won’t really know until we see it, but they’ll be a tough out.
