Ten games in a row now, the Steelers' defense has held an NFL offense to less than 19 points in regulation.
Crazy, right?
Well, it's the truth, and it's only looking more and more rooted in a firm Keith Butler-built foundation, especially after that 40-17 rout of the Titans on Thursday night at Heinz Field.
Start, as always, with the run.
Just like Dick LeBeau's defenses, the first priority in a Butler defense is to make the opponent one-dimensional by taking away old reliable. The Steelers did just that when they limited Tennessee to just 52 yards on the ground after they had averaged 117.5 beforehand. And they did so in the trenches. The Titans featured two power backs in starter DeMarco Murray and backup Derrick Henry, but the focus wasn't on watching how they run the ball but, rather, how and where the Titans' offensive line would try to open rushing lanes. The Steelers displayed a steady feel for the Titans' running game and, as a result, sound gap defense.
And don't look now, but, despite giving up 200-plus yards twice this season, against the Bears and Jaguars, the Steelers now rank eighth in the league in run defense, allowing 97.6 yards per game.
Much of that is due to how their defensive line keeps the linebackers clean by occupying the offensive linemen, offering the backers the space to read and make plays against the run. The below play is a no-gain tackle for Ryan Shazier, but much credit goes to Cam Heyward, highlighted in red, and how he takes on a double-team from the Titans. Doing so allows Shazier and Vince Williams, both highlighted in yellow, to approach the line and read the play:
Outside of two plays, the Steelers' run defense was in place to stop everything the Titans did, including Mike Mularkey's core strategies. Some of those are base run schemes which can be identified easily, and others are simple receiver patterns that move the ball underneath conservative coverage.
The Steelers long have been conservative in their secondary play against the pass, stressing the tackling of the receiver above pursuing the ball. Still, relative newcomer Coty Sensabaugh chose the perfect time to break that mold and make a key interception on a lazy in-route by rookie receiver Corey Davis:
Sensabaugh attacks the route without fear of a double-move, and his gamble pays off with the Steelers' second forced turnover of the game. Being able to take such a gamble is a result of studying the Titans and feeling confident enough to attack the ball and make the interception.
"It felt like a good spot to make the play," Sensabaugh said.
That's just as studious as Heyward knowing when to take on a double-team and how the linebackers should attack their gaps. The defense has yet to go into a game looking unprepared for what an offense keys on trying to do. That's encouraging, going well beyond the football we're witnessing now.
"We feel like we're coming together as a unit," Heyward said. "But in all honesty, we still feel like the best is yet to come. We aren't there yet. We aren't where we want to be."
Occasionally, that still shows. The most glaring mistake Thursday came when Marcus Mariota hit Rishard Matthews for a 75-yard touchdown pass on the opening snap of the second half. Matthews ran a deep post route and beat Sensabaugh to the inside, and Robert Golden wasn't in position to provide help in the deep middle part of the field:
But these mistakes happen only a couple of times per game. Outside of those, this defense has been as close to perfect as any coordinator could ask.
Part of perfection in football, of course, is deception. This defense has become increasingly effective at disguising its intentions with clever appearances at the start of a play, followed by strong execution after the opponent is fooled.
Take Williams' sack in the fourth quarter. The Steelers loaded the box with eight and forced the Titans to be extremely precise with their blocking assignments. Although such an alignment is prone to the run, their already established success against the run, plus the safe lead, put their pass defense in position to be this aggressive in rushing Mariota:
You counted right. That's eight players lined up as potential blitzing options. From there, though, note how only four players rush Mariota. And how nobody picks up Williams. And how Murray, the running back, just kind of wanders off to the right. Williams gets a free path because, despite the Steelers rushing four players against six Titans in protection, the Steelers are the ones who spring a guy wide open.
That's the schematic underpinning of Butler's defense this year. He confuses quarterbacks and blockers, but he also has made sure his personnel can execute the plans.
A perfect example of doing that in pass coverage was Sean Davis' interception in the fourth quarter.
The Steelers set up in a Cover 4 shell defense. That's seen by the four players lined up in deep, deep coverage:
Highlighted in yellow are the Titans' Delanie Walker, Mariota's intended target, and Shazier. Mariota can see Shazier is the lone middle defender. A Cover 4 defense can only do so much on underneath routes, which is why Mariota thinks that all he has to read is where Shazier goes. If Shazier should move in a different direction than Walker, it's an easy completion.
Or not.
Shazier does proceed to run away from Walker, but Davis, the safety highlighted in blue, breaks to the spot Shazier vacated and, thus, finally shows that the Steelers' plan was Cover 3 all along. Mariota never notices that move because he's too busy watching Shazier, which allows Davis to bolt in front of Walker and make his pick.
Next week's script, of course, could be completely different. But Butler's got a little extra time to get busy. Maybe a few extra games, too, in early 2018 if his defense keeps getting smarter and better.