Everyone in the Pittsburgh Steelers fan base is hoping that the offense can not only take a step up, but continue the momentum it ended the 2022 season with. The question to ask isn't in regards to the offense, but on the other side of the ball. With so many questions surrounding the offense and offensive play-calling, how much can the unit really be relied on?
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Steelers OC, Matt Canada has Pittsburgh in a vicious cycle.
It has been well documented that the league is shifting to a more "offensive" focused way of playing. The majority of head coaches hired now are former assistants or coordinators for the offensive side of the ball. The emphasis now is to try to be the next Kyle Shanahan offensively, meaning a coach or coordinator that is so creative with their play calls, that an entirely new branch of the NFL coaching tree is created and named after you.
That's what these organizations want: to be so creative and explosive that they put up around 30 points per game. Relating this back to Pittsburgh, it's hard to imagine a universe where this happens for them in 2023. This may be a pessimistic outlook, but one that has some truth built into it. That's not to say that this offense can never get there, but while they find a rhythm and focus on just trying to win games as opposed to asking the question of how many points we can put up, can the defense carry the majority of the weight?
There are a few questions that need to be answered, but the overall floor of this defense is very high. The Steelers defense currently boasts one former Defensive Player of the Year (who should have had 23.5 sacks in 2022), four former All-Pros (who have also made 22 Pro Bowls between them) and numerous other players that will contribute to those numbers.
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Steelers' Mike Tomlin, Cam Heyward (97), and TJ Watt (90).
The Steelers' defense also set an NFL record by leading the NFL in sacks for five consecutive seasons. During the 2022 season, the Steelers were tied for the most interceptions in the league with the San Francisco 49ers.
There are a few stats to consider. Without TJ Watt, the Steelers are 1-10. Points allowed per game increases from 16.9 to 25.3, whereas sacks and takeaways also drop significantly. Point being that the most important factor to the success of this defense this year is the health of Watt.
Barring another injury, this defense has the potential to be quite special. All of this talent is undeniable, but no defense is perfect. So where might the Steelers struggle this year? The linebackers and secondary are two position groups that have the most questions surrounding them. The entire starting linebacker core is new to the team, which isn't necessarily a negative, since the group last year wasn't very good. We just don't really know what to expect from them...
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T.J. Watt scoops a loose ball for the first score in Pittsburgh's Wild Card loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022.
Steeler Nation has never seen these specific players play together for this team before, so the main question for this group is just if they can gel as a unit. The other position group to highlight is the secondary. The team brought in Patrick Peterson, a savvy veteran that brings a lot of experience and talent to the roster. He is, however, 32 years old at a position that is entirely based around youth, agility and speed. The rest of the room is made up of some players from last year that played just "okay," and draft picks.
The most hyped up of the rest being, of course, Joey Porter Jr. There are a few questions to ask about the rest of the corner group. Can the just "okay" players elevate and develop to at least above average? Can Porter Jr. hit the ground running in his rookie season? The answers to these are "maybe" and "most likely not." The established corners in this group have the talent to elevate themselves and be above average.
Unfortunately, the odds are significantly stacked against Porter Jr. Most corners that transition from college to the NFL struggle early and often (with Sauce Gardner being the one anomaly). But this group does have promise.
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Joey Porter Jr. will continue having his home games in Pennsylvania after landing with the Steelers at the top of the second round.
Realistically, this defense will most likely rank at or near top 10 for both rushing yards and passing yards in 2023. They will most likely rank at or near the top for turnovers and sacks, and probably be close to top 10 for points allowed per game. Optimistically, this defense has the potential to be top 3 in every category and be the main reason the Steelers win games this year.
If some find that too lofty, name at least five more defensive units that have more talent on every level than Pittsburgh. The Steelers will be competing with the Philadelphia Eagles for best defense this year. The Eagles have had some turnover on the defense, so it isn't crazy to conclude that Pittsburgh could have the number one overall defense. Watt and Alex Highsmith are both talented enough to get 15 sacks apiece, if not more. This secondary, if everything goes well, can get over 20 interceptions this year and be a real force to be reckoned with.
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Steelers' rivals Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) is sacked by Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith (56).
Final predictions, this defense will be the reason that this team competes for the AFC North title this year. While the offense slowly figures things out, this defense will allow them the breathing room to learn and make mistakes. The games this year will be low scoring and heart attack inducing (per usual), and many will be decided by one score. This defense will terrify opposing offenses and lead us to yet another winning season. This unit is good enough to win us games, and maybe also break some records along the way.
