Takeaways: Steelers defense dominates Broncos while offense shows spark
Steel City Underground presents post-game takeaways for every 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers NFL regular season games, focusing on the black and gold, just for members of Steelers Nation.
On Sunday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Steelers handed the Denver Broncos a 13-6 loss in the mile high city, staking their claim on a 2-0 start to the 2024 NFL regular season; their first such start in four seasons. Week 2 showed that a young Steelers offense still needs to find a tempo and cohesiveness but, mistake-free, they could really be something. The game was once again more of a dominant performance from the defensive side of the ball for Pittsburgh. As a whole, the team continues to grow and the result has been two wins in as many weeks, leading the AFC North.
If there was one positive – even though there are more – to take away from the Steelers’ offensive performance on Sunday it is this: the players are still learning Arthur Smith’s playbook, but they can get into the end zone. It was the second start for quarterback Justin Fields and he did so behind an offensive line that featured two players earning their first career starts in second-year guard Spencer Anderson and rookie tackle Troy Fautanu. Things weren’t pretty, and certainly not perfect, but they were able to put the first points on the scoreboard in the game when Fields threw a perfectly-placed ball to tight end Darnell Washington for the young mountain of a tight end’s first career touchdown.
“It’s always hard to win in this league, so being able to start out 2-0, with two away games has been great, but we’ve got to be better. We’ve got to stop the penalties, stuff like that… We get that and the way our defense is playing, we get rolling on offense, scoring 28 points-plus, we’ll be in good shape.” – Justin Fields
Fields threw some terrific passes on Sunday afternoon. One noticeable thing was Fields’ ability to put the right touch on the ball and put it in the right places, something that was an issue for the Steelers quarterbacks over the course of the last two seasons. He threaded an absolutely beautiful pass between George Pickens and a tight Broncos defender for a long pass that was, unfortunately, negated due to an offensive line penalty. He also was able to feather the ball on a couple passes to make the catch easier for his intended target, including a slick one to Pat Freiermuth, despite his being forced out of the pocket due to pressure from the Denver defense that applied it heavily all game.
The run game was a mixed bag with Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren, and Cordarrelle Patterson all getting carries. Harris led the group with 69 yards on 17 carries.
Broderick Jones‘ three penalties at right tackle in one offensive series were unfortunately deadly to the drive. He has stated that wearing a brace has not caused any issues in how he plays, but on two holding calls… it certainly looked like he grabbed the defender due to not being able to use both hands to control the angle or momentum. As a result, Jones was pulled and Fautanu sent back in. That will be something to keep an eye on as the season progresses.
Defensively, the Steelers are getting great pressure up front which is allowing their defensive backfield to not only be creative but downright stifling to opposing receivers. On Sunday, as T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith led in pressuring Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix from the edges, the Steelers defensive line bottled up the run. It set the Steelers’ up to be able to maintain the remaining coverage by keeping most of the plays in front of them for another winning turnover battle.
“I thought we were able to apply pressure. We were able to stop the run… I thought we controlled the game for the most part. I never felt like it was out of hand. When you can get three-and-outs early, it allows your offense to settle in.” – Cameron Heyward
Earning two sacks on Nix, and seven hits, the pressure up front forced errant throws. Two of those passes ended up in the hands of Steelers defenders. On the first of those interception plays, Donte Jackson had been injured on the play before and Nix was determined to get a pass into the end zone to Courtland Sutton. Instead, Heyward pressured Nix and he didn’t see Jackson’s replacement, Cory Trice, simply read the pass and grab it on the one drive that could have successfully given the Broncos a chance to get back into the game after going down 13-0 early. It was Trice’s first career interception after missing all of his rookie season in 2023 with a torn ACL.
“I could see the quarterback and could see where he was going… I couldn’t believe he really threw the ball, but he really threw it. It was crazy. The pick felt good.” – Corey Trice
At the end of the game, Damontae Kazee intercepted a Nix pass. It seemed apropos, as the defense had gotten the final say in Week 1 with a Watt sack, that an interception should be the curtain call in Week 2.
