The blitz is gone: Steelers’ defense has lost its edge
Going back to the 1970s Steelers Super Bowl dynasties, the team has been defined by their stifling defense for decades. From the “Steel Curtain” featuring Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, and Jack Ham, to “Blitzburgh” with Kevin Greene, Greg Lloyd, and Rod Woodson, to the Super Bowl XLIII team with James Harrison, LaMarr Woodley, and Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh has always set the tone on the defensive side of the football.
To cut right to the chase, something has changed in the Steel City. The former Steel Curtain now looks like a “Steel Fence”, replete with holes galore. It was an embarrassment to hear commentators discuss the lack of enthusiasm from Pittsburgh’s defense when watching the Steelers Wild Card game against the Baltimore Ravens.
With one of the highest-paid units in the NFL, the Steelers have been turning out disappointing defensive efforts for the last few seasons. But where did it begin? And how can they fix it? Here are some of the ways the defense has dwindled with some strong opinions on what needs to happen next.
Stars & Playmakers
I think a lot of readers would instantly point at some of the highly paid players on the Steelers defense and start calling for changes. However, I don’t feel that talent is the problem.
I’m going to go on a ledge here and discuss fantasy football for a short moment, as this article is heavily statistics-driven. On modern fantasy platforms like Underdog Fantasy, selecting defensive players who can have the same effect as the Steel Curtain and its glory days can be a strategic move since they can change the complexion of a game. The Steelers have those players right now and I’m of the opinion they are not in regression, rather, they are being underutilized.
Cameron Heyward is a great example. At 35-years-old he may have had one of his best seasons ever. Heyward followed up two double-digit sack seasons with an injury-riddled 2023 season. Most thought he was old and finished, but Heyward bounced back with eight sacks, 12 tackles-for-loss, 20 quarterback hits, and a career-high 11 passes defensed.
T.J. Watt, who is once again in talks for the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award, had a down season despite being active for all 17 games. His 11.5 sacks were his fewest in a full season since his rookie year. His six forced fumbles and 19 TFLs suggest he isn’t losing a step, but something is going on when he also regressed in QB hits.
Minkah Fitzpatrick is another playmaker who hasn’t been making plays over the last few years.
Austin vs Butler
The performance of the star players above started to go south following the departure of Keith Butler after the 2021 season.
Watt won the DOPY award in 2021 with 22.5 sacks. Minkah Fitzpatrick had two All-Pro seasons in 2019 and 2020 (with another in 2022) but like Watt, has regressed over the last two seasons in how his role has been altered.
All of the fingers pointing at trading or moving on from these highly paid players should instead change their direction toward current defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, who could become the latest scapegoat for their recent lack of stopping opponents.
Sacks
Under Austin, the Steelers have had 40, 47, and 40 sacks in three seasons.
Compare that with Butler, who’s teams had at least 50 sacks over a five-year span from 2017 to 2021, including several times leading the league. The Steelers had one dip in 2016 where they had 38 sacks, otherwise 47 sacks were the fewest a Butler defense registered in a single season.
Now consider Butler’s teams played a 16-game schedule and the viewpoint becomes worse!
Pressure
In Austin’s three seasons as DC, the Steelers have struggled to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Previous statistics (available from 2018 on) under Butler show the Steelers always got to the quarterback at least 26% of the time, with higher blitz rates providing more pressure as high as 35%.
Turnovers
Why did the Steelers defense look good earlier in the season? They were able to generate turnovers: so many, in fact, that they ended the year tied for the league-lead with the Minnesota Vikings (33).
Points and Yards
Turnovers will be the calling card for Austin, however, as the points against and yards against the Steelers are trending highs for the frnachise over the last several years.
Keith Butler was shown the door after he stopped blitzing as much in 2021 – down to 27% from 40% the year prior – and his defense gave up 398 points and 6,139 yards.
Similar could be said of Dick LeBeau, who was ousted following a year where the D gave up 368 points and 5,654 yards, with only 33 sacks to show for. At least in Butler’s final season, the defense lead the league again with 55 sacks.
Butler also had three seasons out of seven where his defenses held opponents to under 5,000 yards combined.
Show Austin the Door
Assuming that Teryl Austin signed an extension and is operating under the typical Steelers three-year contract cycle for coaches, his deal should be expiring when the 2025 league year begins in March. If it’s not, his performance should be enough to let him go as the numbers don’t match up to his predecessors.
Austin’s defenses, even with Heyward, Watt, Alex Highsmith, Patrick Queen and more could not get more than 40 sacks this season, and it’s the second such time they landed on 40 total in a 17-game season.
His 347 points against and 5,554 yards against are in the same territory that saw LeBeau and Butler let go. Austin’s three seasons as defensive coordinator rank among the worst in various categories over the last decade.
If the Steelers want to get serious about contending for a Lombardi Trophy again, they will have to do more than spend money on the defensive side of the ball. They already have many of the foundational pieces to turn this thing around quickly, they just need the right coaching philosophy in place to succeed.
(And I know what you’re also thinking: if this comes from Mike Tomlin, then he too is a guilty party that may need the same reconsideration as I’m throwing at Teryl Austin!)
