The Steelers' 17-10 win over the Patriots at Heinz Field Sunday was the team's biggest win of the season and was encouraging because of the direction of a defense that has been searching for its identity all season.
Let's dig deep ...
TWO-MINUTE DRILL
• Where scheme beat team: Keith Butler had been the target of much criticism in recent weeks for the defense's fourth quarter failures during a three-game losing streak. But against Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, he delivered a gameplan that never allowed the five-time Super Bowl champions to get a fix.
The initial plan appeared to feature a return of Artie Burns to the starting lineup. But when Brady connected with a wide open Chris Hogan with 63-yard touchdown pass, Burns was removed from game and didn't see field again, outside of special teams.
While many, including myself, saw that play as a huge mistake by Burns, Mike Tomlin provided a different assessment after the game of the lone touchdown surrendered by the Steelers.
"That play wasn't even his fault, so I think I want to be clear in saying that," Tomlin said when asked about pulling Burns after the touchdown. "That play we gave up was not his fault. I accept responsibility that it was our fault. I was too busy arguing a sequence of events prior to that really to make sure we had proper communication in that sequence, so we essentially spotted them seven."
The Steelers did spot the Patriots seven points in a game they won 17-10. But my initial reaction to Tomlin's postgame comments was that he was covering for Burns, who has had a rough season.
However when I reviewed the tape, Tomlin's explanation made sense. Dale Lolley and I had speculated during the week that Burns would be asked to explicitly play man coverage. But the Steelers had to play the Patriots, a team that rarely lets an opponent just play one style of defense without challenging it.
Watch how Burns plays tight to Josh Gordon at the bottom of the screen and follows him the entire play, while Joe Haden and Sean Davis are clearly in zone for a Cover 3 scheme. It's apparent the Steelers switched out of their called defensive play because of the motion by Hogan to to the top of the formation and went into a zone scheme.
The problem came when everyone switched into the Cover 3 zone and Burns stayed in man coverage. My estimation is Burns was told only play man unless told otherwise and the Steelers forgot that when making the switch at the line. While he was in man coverage and Haden and Davis covered two-thirds of the field, the one-third of the field left vacated by Burns' assignment was exposed and Hogan was wide open:
That's why I believe Tomlin was accepting responsibility for the mistake. The coaches instructed Burns to stay in man coverage.
Instead of being stubborn and thinking the Patriots wouldn't find another way to exploit that plan, Tomlin and Butler scrapped it and put Coty Sensabaugh in to allow for the defense to make all the switches it needed in its chess match with Brady.
And what a strategic battle that was.
Much of the disguising and secondary movement wasn't available upon writing this article, but the parts that were available in the broadcast angles told the story. The Steelers moved their safeties, linebackers and slot cornerbacks around the field all game to keep Brady from ever getting a hold of what the Steelers were doing.
Take a look at Davis' pass defensed on a pass to Rob Gronkowski. Notice how, pre-snap, he's at the top of the screen, setting up as if he's the single-high safety while Terrell Edmunds is towards the bottom of the formation looking to help in underneath coverage. As soon as the ball is snapped Edmunds retreats deep into the secondary, while you can see Davis break on a pass Brady thinks he have open to Gronkowski.
Brady thought Davis would be the high safety and he wouldn't make such a play, but the switch allowed Davis to be aggressive and take away Brady's read, while Edmunds' deep coverage never would've allowed Brady to have a wide open Gordon:
That's the defensive masking the Patriots have used to fool Ben Roethlisberger. The Steelers returned the favor to Brady. It was a consistent theme, which showed great discipline to maintain through all the switches.
Knowing where to be constantly in the NFL is one challenge, but knowing how to disguise true intentions while maintaining that assignment is a major challenge. Outside of the early touchdown, the Steelers' defense displayed that level of detail in keeping Brady from ever relying on pre-snap reads and stick to his primary reads.
While the defense has to be aware of what it's doing, it also has to be mindful of how the offense might take advantage. The Steelers came into the game with the seventh best third down defense, allowing conversions on only 36.8 percent of attempts. The Patriots had the ninth best third down offense, converting 42.3 percent.
But the Patriots converted 3-of-10 on third downs, and a key stop came in the red zone in the third quarter. Watch how the Julian Edelman motions to the bottom of the formation to create a bunch formation and set up a screen. This used to be a play that would beat the Steelers, but Edmunds sticks his body in the mix and blows up the play.
Hogan tries to block Edmunds, but fails to stop the rookie and the Steelers swarmed behind him to stop the ball and force a late field goal:
Plays such as that never let Brady get the easy completions to move the chains, and eventually forced him to take risks. The Steelers delivered their biggest turnover of the season when Haden intercepted Brady, but it was a team effort that caused the result.
Watch this view to see the play through Brady's eyes. The Steelers line up with Davis as the single-high safety with Burnett playing underneath in the middle of the field. This signals to Brady the Steelers are either in Cover 3 or Cover 1, either of which would favor Gordon's streak in the slot to be open.
But on the snap, both Davis and Edmunds switch into a Cover 2 zone in the end zone, taking away the big play reads, while Burnett flies to Gordon to take away any hot read Brady had on the play. With his hot reads gone, Brady held the ball until he felt the pressure and made an ill-advised pass that allowed Haden to make a great play:
That success doesn't come without great team effort and coordination from this defense. It was more than just hitting Brady or being more physical than the 41-year old quarterback. They beat him, Josh McDaniels' and Belichick's offensive plan with proper execution of a brilliant mix of execution and smoke and mirrors schemes.
• All about the tackling: Missed tackles were a main problem of the Steelers in 2017, as Pro Football Focus revealed with their number-crunching on that team:
Last season, the #Steelers missed a tackle on 16.1% of run plays (31st in NFL).
They added sure tackling veterans this offseason in S Morgan Burnett and LB Jon Bostic, who ranked 1st and 8th respectively at their positions in tackling efficiency. https://t.co/R2sUJejvPY
— PFF PIT Steelers (@PFF_Steelers) July 19, 2018
Because of that, our commitment this season is to keep a close eye on this facet.
What's truly remarkable is how Haden recorded 12 tackles, his most of the season, and tied Vince Williams and L.J. Fort for the most of any defender in a single game this season.
Notable is how the Steelers' middle defenders, Edmunds, Davis, Hilton and Burnett were all among the leaders in tackles. That means when the Patriots were targeting the middle of the field they were active and refused to be a weakness to the defense.
• Top matchups: Each week we highlight the best matchups and how they impacted the game.
• Rob Gronkowski vs. Steelers' safeties: After taking over the fourth quarter last year, Gronkowski had to be a key focus of the Steelers' defensive game plan. But Gronkowski only had two catches on five targets for 21 yards. That's the worst numbers of his career against the Steelers by far, and a huge factor in the Steelers' win. Advantage: Steelers.
• Ben Roethlisberger vs. Patriots' secondary: The Patriots had gotten the best of Roethlisberger several times in his career with their smothering of his top target each year whether it was Antonio Brown or Le'Veon Bell. But Roethlisberger spread the ball nicely and never allowed them to fix in on his plans. Though he had two interceptions, Roethlisberger got key third-down conversions late to win. Advantage: Steelers.
• Steelers' pass rush vs. Tom Brady: The key to beating Brady is often the pass rush, so this had to be a highlight. Seven quarterback hits, a sack and only 10 points allowed says it all. The Steelers' pass rush did its job forcing Brady's hand. Advantage: Steelers.
Had a big play or a decent game 
Very impressive, multiple big plays
Elite performance
Gave up a big play without redemption 
Total performance was a disappointment
Horrible, inexcusable
QUARTERBACK: B
Made the throws early to give them the lead. Though he threw two interceptions and didn't put the Patriots away late, he still had several big moments.
Ben Roethlisberger:
Roethlisberger started the game hot with two touchdown passes to Vance McDonald and Antonio Brown, but then two interceptions that opened the door for the Patriots to come back. Normally an offense scoring just three points in the second half leads to a bad grade, but Roethlisberger came up big with key third down conversions on their last drive.
Twice, the Steelers faced third-and-long on their last drive and Roethlisberger delivered with a strike to McDonald and an improvised play to Samuels.
Watch how Roethlisberger takes his time to recognize that the Patriots have everything blanketed on a key third down. He rolls outside the pocket thanks to great protection, especially from Matt Feiler, and gets Jaylen Samuels against linebacker John Simon. Simon is on an island and has to choose to either play Roethlisberger or Samuels. Once he commits to Roethlisberger, the throw was easy:
While the offense left the defense to win the game, cannot ignore Roethlisberger's big moments.
RUNNING BACKS: A+
Never expected a third string back to do as well as he did, and it helped the Steelers move the ball at critical times.
Jaylen Samuels:
Gaining 142 yards on 19 carries with two catches for 30 yards changed the game. Steelers adjusted from last week and used plenty of wham run schemes that allowed Samuels to get to the edge and use his speed to outrun the Patriots' edge defenders. After a tough week against the Raiders, Samuels ran hard and looked confident finishing runs and talked his fair share of trash to the Patriots. When he sat on their bench after a big run in the second quarter, I took that as a message that he was not scared of them.
OFFENSIVE LINE: A
Despite a rough start, the line dominated the game and gave Roethlisberger plenty of time while plowing the road for Samuels.
Maurkice Pouncey:
Saw him accelerate to the second level of the defense several times and win at the point of attack. His athleticism became a major factor because of how far he could accelerate into the Patriots' defense.
David DeCastro:
A rough start giving up a sack and committing a holding penalty, but rebounded strong. He was an aggressive lead blocker for Samuels on the power runs to the edge.
Ramon Foster:
Several times I saw Ramon Foster holding down his gap in the middle of the line both in pas protection and in the run game. As usual, he was reliable and physical at the point of attack.
Alejandro Villanueva:
Didn't hear Alejandro Villanueva's name once after the opening announcements because his gap was never a problem. He also was assertive on the edge for the run game. He's elite.
Matt Feiler:
After a rough run of games, Matt Feiler rebounded with a strong showing in both the run and passing game. Though the Patriots lack a true edge threat, he delivered.
WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS: A-
Not called upon too much in this game, but delivered when their number was called.
Antonio Brown:
Not his biggest game, but his four catches for 49 yards and a touchdown helped the Steelers establish their early lead. Also had some aggressive run blocking for Samuels on Stephon Gilmore to the point that Gilmore was complaining after the game.
Vance McDonald:
His touchdown that beat Patrick Chung while in single man coverage was a highlight to support why the Steelers traded for him. The third down conversion in the fourth quarter helped the Steelers seal the deal late.
James Washington:
Finally looked like the player the Steelers drafted to be a playmaker. Three catches on four targets for 65 yards, highlighted by a spectacular 32-yard jump ball he snagged. Also was impressed by his demeanor to stay focused. In the fourth quarter, Samuels gained another first down and was in the face of a Patriots' defender, appearing to be jawing about the play. James Washington went and grabbed Samuels to pull him away from an interaction that could've led to a flag or a prolonged exchange the Steelers didn't need. That's awareness and leadership on top of a good game.
Eli Rogers:
Did it look like Eli Rogers had spend a year on injured reserve? He only had four catches for 20 yards but his chemistry with Roethlisberger appeared to have never left. Converted a key early third down that extended the Steelers' first touchdown drive and took advantage of getting the Patriots' lesser defenders.
DEFENSIVE LINE: A
Though only one sack was registered, this group maintained their gaps and never let Brady step up in the pocket.
Cam Heyward:
Four tackles with two quarterback hits and constantly won his assignment in the pass rush. Though he never got home, the Patriots had their hands full with keeping Heyward from taking over the middle of their formation.
Stephon Tuitt:
Three tackles and drew a holding call on the red zone drive that ended with Haden's interception. Both Tuitt and Heyward did a great job maintaining the middle and not allowing Brady to feel comfortable on his initial launch point.
LINEBACKERS: A
Belichickthought he could get mismatches on the Steelers' linebackers, but it never came to fruition as they had a strong showing.
T. J. Watt:
Three tackles, a sack and three quarterback hits to highlight an impressive performance. Consistently applied pressure with hand placement and burst against right tackle Marcus Cannon. He now has 11 sacks on the season and 19 in his first two years with the Steelers, the most of any player in Steelers' history in their first two NFL seasons.
Vince Williams:
The stats won't show how Williams was all over the field, but his 59 plays made him the most utilized inside linebacker by 44 snaps (next closest was Jon Bostic with 15). He was all over the field and was comfortable in coverage against running backs and being the point man for the Steelers. He even covered James White on a comeback route outside the numbers and again later on a screen pass the Patriots tried to subvert the Steelers' aggressive pass rush.
SECONDARY: A
If you told me this defense had limited Brady and the Patriots to 10 points I would have called you a liar. Much of that success was because of the secondary's discipline and execution.
Joe Haden:
Don't need to make this too deep; 12 tackles, two passes defensed and the biggest play of the game with his interception. He's the defensive MVP of this team and more than proven his worth.
Terrell Edmunds:
Lined up all over the field and was never victimized by Brady despite the several switches he had in coverage. He hasn't made the game-changing plays yet, but the fact he's fit into this defense without missing a beat is a testament to his smarts as a player. But his size also offered an advantage in covering Gronkowski.
Sean Davis:
Davis' regression of recent weeks was cut off with a strong showing against the Patriots. His six tackles and a pass defensed provided the free safety support the Steelers have lacked in recent years. While he had a hand in the opening touchdown mistake to Hogan, his play throughout the game was a big part of the Steelers' success.
Mike Hilton:
Despite the stories of him being benched for Cameron Sutton, Mike Hilton saw plenty of action with 38 snaps out of 62 and had seven tackles in the process.
Morgan Burnett:
Finally showed veteran play in the middle of the field, being in position and helping limit Gronkowski.
THE ROAD AHEAD
It doesn't get any easier against Drew Brees and the Saints. If the defense delivers against back-to-back future Hall of Fame quarterbacks, it will set a serious tone for the playoffs.
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
