The Pittsburgh Steelers defense took a step back last season and despite leading the league in sacks again, wasn’t the immoveable object many expected. But Pittsburgh has rebuilt the Steelers defense on all three levels and should be much improved. Here’s what we expect to see when the Steelers defense takes on the Cincinnati Bengals offense on Sunday.
Agressive focus on Joe Mixon
Bengals running back Joe Mixon ran all over the Steelers defense last season. You can bet defensive coordinator Teryl Austin as a player to use these young athletes on defense to slow down Mixon and not let him get started.
A secondary on its heels
Cincinnati has a trio of receivers every bit as formidable as the Steelers trio of Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool and George Pickens. If the Steelers pass rush doesn’t keep Burrow off balance, the secondary will have its work cut out for it agaist Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd.
Joe Burrow running for his life
There is no team that gets after the quarterback like the Steelers. Linebacker T.J. Watt and defensive tackle Cam Heyward form one of the most potent tandems in the league and should keep Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow on the run.
All eyes on the tackling
One of the biggest weakensses of the Steelers defense over the past several seasons has been inconsistent tackling. This is where the influence of defensive assistant Brian Flores should come in handy as this group works hard to minimize big plays.
