2 New Steelers Defenders Have Proven They Are The Key To Success In The Secondary: "It's Going To Be Hard To Beat Them"

The Pittsburgh Steelers' offseason narrative has been that it almost doesn't matter who is under center for the team, as long as the defense is healthy. After their Week 1 victory over the Atlanta Falcons, a healthy Chris Boswell must also be considered. The Steelers won on six field goals off Boswell's toe, as the defense held Kirk Cousins and the Falcons to only 10 points. 

T.J. Watt's impact is impossible to understate. The Falcons' offensive line struggled to block him all day, and if not for some bad calls, the stat sheet would reflect the two forced fumbles he caused. However, according to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter, Ray Fittipaldo, Watt isn't the only defender who deserves credit for their success. Fittipaldo joined guest host Adam Bittner on the North Shore Drive Podcast to discuss the game. Bittner asked Fittipaldo what he thought about the performance of newcomers Donte Jackson and DeShon Elliott, and what he expects their impact to be going forward. 

Fittipaldo said the Steelers made massive changes to their secondary during the offseason. He said they felt like some of the players they had, such as Patrick Peterson and Keanu Neal, were older and thus slower. 

"They felt they had to get more athletic," said Fittipaldo. "You get that with Donte Jackson. You watch that guy in the practice field. That guy can run. He made a nice play to kind of seal up that game yesterday, to set up that final field goal that eventually put that game out of reach. DeShon Elliott is just a solid football player. Yeah, he's bounced around, but I think he's gonna be really good for Minkah Fitzpatrick."

Both Jackson and Elliott had an interception a piece. As Fittipaldo said, Jackson's interception set up the final field goal that cinched the win. Even undrafted rookie free agent Beanie Bishop Jr. had a solid game, besides dropping coverage on tight end Kyle Pitts before halftime. That was tremendously positive, considering he was a player that even Head Coach Mike Tomlin seemed dubious about. 

The entire secondary did a great job containing Pitts and the Falcons' other receivers. Fittipaldo said that he believes that Jackson and Elliott's elevated play will work in favor of safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who hopes to get back to playing "Minkah ball" this season after a challenging 2023. 

"Kirk Cousins stayed away from Minkah yesterday, but that didn't play into anything good for the Falcons; that actually played into the Steelers' hands. The turnovers will eventually come for Minkah Fitzpatrick, as long as you have guys like Donte Jackson and DeShon Elliott catching the ball and making big plays for the defense. Anytime the Steelers are plus three in the turnover category, it's going to be hard to beat them, and we saw that yesterday."

After the game in Atlanta, Jackson credited the coaching staff with making in-game adjustments after the Falcons scored their first touchdown. He said he was able to "widen his vision" and play the ball. During the 2023 season, the Steelers' defense was suffering from the injury bug, and making those adjustments to adapt to the game was much harder.   

Steelers Middle Linebackers Did Enough

Steelers fans were hoping for big things from newcomer Patrick Queen during his Black and Gold debut against the Falcons. Fittipaldo also pointed out that while the middle linebackers did not have a huge day on paper, they were making their presence known, and like Elliott and Jackson, this was also helpful for Fitzpatrick. 

The middle linebackers room has been the Achilles heel of the Steelers defense for several seasons, but Fittipaldo saw true competency from them Week 1. This was a solid and consistent performance. That reliability allowed Fitzpatrick to spread out more and make tackles he couldn't last season. Fitzpatrick's numbers weren't earth-shattering, but he led the team with six tackles.

Fittipaldo said that improved team play will allow individual players such as Fitzpatrick, Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Cameron Heyward to shine.   

What did you think of Elliott and Jackson's debut performance? Click to comment below.

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