The defense strikes a collective pose after a Sean Davis interception. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS

Steelers

Kovacevic: Defense digs deep, comes up big, thinks bigger

Nov 17, 2017 • 5:50 am

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"Now that's how you win a Super Bowl."

I was sitting with Robert Golden well after most of Heinz Field's home locker room had been swept out late Thursday night, and he spoke those words, at least initially, without explanation.

No way he was going to get away with that.

"You need everybody," the man elaborated at my insistence. "It's one thing to feel like you have depth, like you have guys who can step up when someone else goes down. We always believe that in here. 'Next man up' and all that, you know? But it's another thing to go out there, like we just did, and show it. And feel it."

Hm. Yeah.

Steelers 40, Titans 17.

Anyone else feeling it yet?

If not, even after the season's most complete performance, even with a boisterous crowd of 60,703 being joined by a bonus Thursday night nationwide audience, even amid a football-perfect 40-degree chill, even against a Tennessee team that was 6-3 with a four-game winning streak ... well, there's always this:

This was as good as gold.

No, it was as good as Golden himself.

____________________

That's what this really was about. Ben Roethlisberger's breakout and Antonio Brown's brilliance will deserve the headlines, but this evening, one way or the other, would be defined by defensive depth. Because Joe Haden and Mike Mitchell, the experienced half of the secondary, were missing. Because the Tennessee MO is to pound, pound, pound on the ground to wear an opponent down. And because, of course, the short bye week is so often disastrous, not just in results but also injuries.

And all this defense would achieve, with Golden and Coty Sensabaugh getting their first starts in the secondary, plus a steady five-man rotation through the big bodies up front, was ... um, four interceptions and five sacks?

Oh, for real.

Steelers defense vs. Titans, Heinz Field, Nov. 16, 2017. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS

The franchise hadn't seen that same dual defensive output since Oct. 1, 1984, a strikingly similar score of 38-17 in beating the Bengals at Three Rivers Stadium, so it's safe to say this was something special.

Golden, Sensabaugh, Sean Davis and Mike Hilton got the picks, while Cam Heyward had two sacks, and Stephon Tuitt, Vince Williams and L.T. Walton had one each. Overall, the Titans' broadly-respected, big-back rushing attack backfired badly, with DeMarco Murray's eight carries for 10 yards and Derrick Henry's seven carries for 31 yards.

That's 52 total yards, and 2.5 per attempt. Take away Henry's 16-yard run in the second half, and they might as well have stayed in the huddle.

"Really, 52?" Tuitt replied when I mentioned the number to him. "Wow, and those guys are pretty good."

So's the quarterback, Marcus Mariota, at least in terms of talent and potential. He completed 22 of 33 passes for 306 yards, including a 75-yard dagger to Rishard Matthews that pulled the Titans within 16-14 on the first snap after intermission. But the kid also spent about half the night either on his back or making tackles, which reveals more, I think, about the Steelers.

Because Tuitt, held back by injury for the better part of the first eight games, has resumed the rampage so many had expected from him in 2017, with this community body slam -- check out the Steelers lunging at Mariota like walkers from 'The Walking Dead' -- quashing a Tennessee drive in the second quarter:

Because Heyward's season, already at a superstar's level, might have hit yet another high with his evening-long romp through the Tennessee backfield, underscored by this 15-yard dumping of Mariota midway through the third quarter that left the Titans with a deflating field goal:

For some perspective on that, consider that, as I was interviewing Heyward, Ryan Shazier strolled by his stall and shouted, "Cam Heyward, All-Pro!" to which the defensive captain who'd rather rip his own beard from his chin than acknowledge a compliment, actually let out a small smile. And later, when asked if he's having his best season, rather than bristling, he replied, "I do think I'm having a great year, and I just want to keep doing it. This defense allows me to do it, and they're expecting me to do it."

My friends, when Cam thinks he's having a great year, he's having a great year.

Tuitt's been almost as effective since coming back. But he, like his defensive captain, was far more inclined to spread the credit, especially on this short week during which Tomlin, according to the linemen with whom I spoke, had warned them for days that there would be a heavy rotation. True to his word, the head coach, Keith Butler and John Mitchell made liberal use of backups Tyson Aluala and Walton, keeping everyone fresh and ultimately healthy, although Heyward did go down briefly with a minor left leg injury.

"Those guys, Tyson, L.T., they're such a huge part of what we do, but especially on a short week," Tuitt told me. "They kept us fresh, but they also did their own damage."

Heyward expressed a similar sentiment:

The linebackers didn't rotate much, but that's no longer part of the plan, it seems.

"Those guys up front, they take a beating up there," Williams said. "We just keep rolling along behind them."

They're doing more than rolling. Shazier had a team-high 10 tackles, including impressive work on run-stuffing the gaps one-on-one with the Titans' beef. Williams had his sixth sack -- that's six for an inside linebacker, as he'll happily remind -- as well as seven tackles, two for losses, and three direct hits on Mariota.

And T.J. Watt, in addition to an athletic pass defensed, turned in this gem on special teams:

He's already had his share of big plays as a rookie, but I'd never seen him as spirited as he was after that blocked field goal and had to ask about it:

Still and all, with no apology offered, the secondary stood out.

Hilton's pick at midfield on Tennessee's first possession led to a 10-0 lead and put the Titans precisely where they didn't want to be, pressured into passing:

"That one sailed on Marcus," Mike Mularkey, his coach, would say fairly. But Hilton had applied for work at a Foot Locker in Atlanta this time a year ago, and here he was making a sharp read of Mariota's eyes to follow the ball for his second NFL interception. Credit where it's due. He could be selling shoes, and he's instead contributing wholly unexpected depth by simply having made the cut out of Latrobe.

In the second quarter, Sensabaugh made a veteran read and an aggressive move for his pick that led to another field goal:

Seriously, watch it again. He reads the slant better than the receiver running it, for crying out loud.

"I just felt like the ball was coming and decided to go after it," Sensabaugh said.

Golden's pick came in the fourth quarter with the Steelers up by 20, but it still felt like the seal:

And be plenty certain it felt good to No. 20, who's been with the team in so many capacities over his 116 NFL games here but whose start was only his 11th.

"You know, you're around the game a long time, you do a lot of different things," he was telling me as part of that same talk above. "Sometimes people lose faith in you. Sometimes your coaches lose faith in you. But as long as you keep doing the work, you keep believing in yourself, and you know you've got the faith of your teammates ... yeah, man, this was nice."

That ball popping up in the air ...

"Right. That ball's meant for me. I worked for that."

____________________

This defense was meant to happen, in a manner of speaking.

No, not Hilton. Everything but Hilton.

Tomlin, Kevin Colbert and Art Rooney II took some unusual steps this summer. No one would come right out and say they were going all-in because that could paint the picture that there are years where they don't take such an approach, and that's anathema in these guys' world. But they did, indisputably, do exactly that.

The defensive line was beaten up and beaten down last season, so they signed Alualu, an 88-game starter over the previous seven seasons with the Jaguars, to a two-year, $6 million deal out of free agency in March. He was basically a starter signed as very expensive depth.

The secondary was young and promising but also thin, especially at safety, so they signed Sensabaugh to a two-year, $2.6 million contract. He was a 15-game starter for Tennessee just two years ago, and he wasn't about to be one here.

Tight end looked a little wobbly in training camp, so they traded for Vance McDonald.

Then, they rescued Haden, a refugee from the Browns, to deepen the corner spot.

Then, they traded for J.J. Wilcox for more safety depth.

And this is why.

I asked Tomlin about all his defensive depth and what it meant on this short week:

This singular point can't be overstated, even with six weeks left in the regular season: The Steelers won't always fire on all cylinders, as they did in this game, but their depth will offer them the slack to escape on the occasions it isn't all there. It seems like there's always at least one game like that in a long playoff run, too, and that's when it'll be most appreciated.

For now, it's worth appreciating that this management team, while as imperfect as the rest of us, smartly recognized the opportunity at hand and loaded up at positions where, in all candor, none of us would have complained a peep if they hadn't.

"The best, deepest secondary I've ever been part of," Sensabaugh said up there. "We've got nickels on the practice squad who'd be starting somewhere."

Imagine a statement like that, oh, even a couple months ago.

Keep talking up the Super Bowl. It's OK when a roster runs 53 deep.

MATT SUNDAY GALLERY

Steelers vs. Titans, Heinz Field, Nov. 16, 2017. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS

WHAT'S BREWING

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VIDEO

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