Kovacevic: A defense rebuilt, maybe reborn

At 3:01 p.m. Sunday, on the occasion of the Steelers' 83rd home opener, I swear I heard it.

"DEE-FENSE! DEE-FENSE!"

It emanated from above Heinz Field's north end zone, and it wasn't sustained for more than several seconds before all concerned had to reset a few yards from the Pittsburgh goal line. But it was unmistakable. It was real.

And it was the first time for that particular chant since ... wow, who can remember?

"Did you hear that?" Lawrence Timmons asked afterward with the sweetest, softest of smiles. "It got loud, too. I mean loud."

I asked LT right back why it happened.

"Because they're Pittsburgh Steelers fans, that's why. They love their defense. And we love them right back. There's nothing better than playing in this place when the defense is going like we were."



Steelers 43, 49ers 18.

And it was actually more impressive than that if tossing out two garbage-time touchdowns, which I'm plenty comfortable doing in this context.

Let's not kid anyone here: The buzz for this game, for this team, was about as low as one could imagine, both in Pittsburgh and in the broader Nation. It was bad enough losing Bell and Bryant, worse still losing to Tom Brady, worse still that the Patriots cheated, and worst of all -- if you ask me -- that the defense set the stage for yet another long season of wondering how or if this franchise will ever reclaim its trademark.

So for this one week, sure, you can have your Ben Roethlisberger brilliance, your Antonio Brown acrobatics, your DeAngelo Williams hat trick of touchdowns, your Darrius Heyward-Bey blowing off the top for Martavis Bryant. The offense was exceptional. But that was expected. It's been going on for a couple of years now, and it's only going to get stronger once Le'Veon Bell returns next week in St. Louis and Bryant two weeks later.

I'll take this defensive performance above all, thanks.

And I'll take it because, like the sentiment expressed by the record crowd of 66,472 that led smoothly into an old-fashioned goal-line stand in the third quarter ... it was real.