Well, it’s good to be 2-0. I only wish our defense would’ve had a pick or another fumble. But, hey, our beloved Steelers got the win. That’s the only thing we can ask for. The Steelers defense finished the game with two sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and six passes defensed.

Now, let’s take a look at a few plays.

TJ Watt continues to impress

Watt made his presence felt on the Vikings first possession of the game. On 1st and 20, on the Vikings 26 yard line, you’ll see Watt lined up at the LOLB spot. He primarily occupies the right side. The Vikings try to set up a screen pass to Jerick McKinnon, but Watt sticks his left arm up and bats down the pass. This isn’t a spectacular play by any means, it’s just another instance of Watt making his presence felt. This play put the Vikings in a even more difficult spot, a not-so-good quarterback facing a 2nd and 20, options very limited. This gave the defense an even more advantage on the next play.

A little breathing room

On this play, Keith Butler got a little creative. With a little breathing room, Butler decided to send Haden on a corner blitz. This shows the vet experience of Haden of timing the blitz perfectly and disrupting the play. Although Haden’s play didn’t show up on the stat sheet, he still did his job to perfection: playing a part in disruption. But even more than Haden’s perfectly timed blitz, let’s give credit to the two guys that showed up on the stat sheet. Keenum was lined up in shotgun with McKinnon to his right side. They ran the draw play and McKinnon didn’t go anywhere, it was a no gain. Why? Because Cameron Heyward and Tyson Alualu shot through the offensive linemen so quickly that McKinnon didn’t have time to blink. Alualu is proving to be one of the most underrated free-agent signings in Steelers history.

Another case of disruption

I love talking about Mike Hilton. Here’s a guy who was a wildcard going into training camp, no one expected him to make the final 53, but he did. Now he’s a regular contributor on defense. Keith Butler has made it a priority to incorporate more cornerback blitzes into the fold for the defense and Hilton is a perfect reason why this makes sense. On 3rd and 10, Butler uses just two down linemen with Dupree and Shazier rolled up on the outside and Watt lined up over the center. Hilton is aligned in the slot, appearing as though he is going to be in man coverage. This gives the Vikings the impression that the Steelers will only send four men on the pass rush.

At the snap, Hilton burst off of the line off of the edge while Dupree shoots inside towards the B-gap. Vikings’ tackle Mike Remmers comes down to pick up Dupree without seeing Hilton coming in on a blitz. Dalvin Cook attempts to pick up Hilton but is too late in seeing it and Hilton brushes off and gets nearly gets a sack. Even though the sack didn’t happen, this caused Keenum to make a poor throw and force the 4th down. By disguising these types of blitzes, the Steelers can afford to send just four or five players on a blitz and keep players back in coverage. A quick, hard-nosed player like Mike Hilton gives the Steelers these opportunities and make him such an important addition to this defense.

Cam Heyward can manhandle virtually anyone

After missing the second half of the 2016 season, the Steelers have to be thrilled to have their defensive captain back on the field. Quite frankly, Cam Heyward is such a strong force at the point of attack for the Steelers’ defensive line. On this 3rd down opportunity for the Vikings, Keenum is back in the shotgun trying to get something going for the offense. Off of the snap, Heyward works his hands straight through the chest of left guard Nick Easton, causing Easton to compromise his pad level every so slightly and stop moving his feet. This puts Heyward in full control of the block, using his leverage and relentless motor to get Easton to turn his body and give up his outside shoulder. Because Keenum holds onto the ball for a tad too long, Heyward is able to get to the quarterback and take him down as the ball is coming out. This demonstrates that an offensive linemen must consistently use great technique against Heyward if they want to be successful. He is simply too strong and technically sound to allow him to get into your body and push the pocket. Once Stephon Tuitt returns, the Steelers have a dangerous, top-tier defensive end duo.

Shaky coverage against another tight end

In recent years, the Steelers defense has struggled to contain opposing tight ends. While Kyle Rudolph only had four receptions for 45 yards, 27 of those came on one catch towards the end of the 3rd quarter. On a 3rd and 20, the Vikings unsurprisingly bring out their 11 personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR) and put Rudolph into the slot. To cover this, the Steelers defend with their dime package. This gives the Steelers four down “lineman” (they typically utilize their outside linebackers as two of the four), one linebacker (Shazier), and six defensive backs. On the snap, Rudolph takes off downfield and finds a hole in the zone coverage between Shazier and Mike Mitchell and slips behind them down the field. Simultaneously, Jerick McKinnon comes out of the backfield and sits in the middle of the field, seemingly prompting Mitchell to slow down and respect both threats.

As the ball is released, it is too late for Mitchell to adjust to the play, allowing Keenum to float the ball over Mitchell’s head to Rudolph, who comes down with a ridiculous catch. At the end of the day, though, Mitchell needs to make this play. On 3rd and 20, there is no reason for a tight end to be making the catch this far down the field behind the coverage. On a positive note, the best part of this play for the Steelers was Sean Davis coming in to make the open field tackle and prevent Rudolph from gaining any more yardage. The Steelers still need to figure out an effective way to not give up big chunks of yardage to tight ends, and Mike Mitchell doesn’t appear to be the solution.

Conclusion

As a whole, this Steelers’ defensive unit is a group that is developing right before our eyes. While the offense continues to find chemistry between Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant, and Le’Veon Bell, it is nice to see young players really make strides on defense with veterans there to provide a strong foundation. How they handle better offenses has yet to be seen, but having games like this are a great way to build confidence and chemistry in the long-run.