Things might be coming together for the Steelers at inside linebacker just in the nick of time.
After some struggles in the first three games, rookie Devin Bush and veteran free agent pickup Mark Barron put together a very good outing in the Steelers' 27-3 win over the Bengals last Monday night. Bush had nine tackles, including three for a loss, a sack and a pass defended in the game, while Barron led the Steelers with 11 tackles, adding an interception and a tackle for a loss.
"I would definitely say so," Barron said when I asked him if that was the best the duo had played this season.
"The more experience you get with something, the better you get. I guess that kind of came out."
The Steelers (1-3) will need a lot more of that Sunday if they're going to beat the Ravens (2-2) at Heinz Field.
While the Bengals offered some challenges with running back Joe Mixon and tight ends Tyler Eifert and C.J. Uzomah, the Ravens offer a challenge on offense like few other teams.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson is ninth in the AFC in rushing with 238 yards on 36 attempts, while running back Mark Ingram is fourth with 328 yards on 55 attempts. That works out to 6.2 yards per carry for the two.
And the speedy Jackson hasn't just been doing it with his feet. He's completing nearly 65 percent of his passes this season and is averaging 277.5 yards per game with 10 touchdown passes and two interceptions. Tight end Mark Andrews leads the Ravens with 23 receptions, while rookie receiver Marquise Brown has averaged nearly 17 yards on his 18 catches.
It has all added up to the Ravens having the league's top-rated offense, producing 482.5 yards per game. That has helped offset a defense that has not been nearly as effective as previous years. Since shutting down the hapless Dolphins in Week 1, the Ravens have allowed just over 460 yards per game in their last three.
So, Sunday's game should be a track meet, right?
Not if the Steelers defense has anything to say about it. They'll work hard to keep Jackson in the pocket.
"You’ve got to be technically sound and disciplined in your assignments. And you’ve got to make your plays when they’re there for you. That’s every game, but even more so this game because of the threat he poses with the run outside the pocket and running around," Barron told me. "People have to be where they’re supposed to be and you have to make the plays when they’re there for you. You might not get that help that you would get playing against somebody else."
That's where the breakdowns occur. And it had been something of an issue for the Steelers in their first couple of games, particularly in the opener at New England.
But as the defensive unit has played more snaps together and Bush, the team's top draft pick, has gotten more comfortable with his role, the breakdowns have been far less frequent.
As Barron said, however, Jackson offers a different level of stress for a defense.
The Steelers faced him twice last season, but in both instances, he was a gadget player, with Joe Flacco starting both of those games at quarterback. Jackson had nine rushing attempts for 27 yards and threw one pass for 12 yards basically serving as a Wildcat quarterback for the Ravens.
One player who has faced Jackson as a full-time quarterback is new safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. The Steelers acquired Fitzpatrick in a trade with the Dolphins after Week 2. Jackson went 17 of 20 for 324 yards and five touchdown passes in a 59-10 win over Miami in Week 1.
"I looked at all the tape from when he was a starter," Fitzpatrick told me. "I game planned for him looking at the stuff he did well, stuff they did in the preseason. Obviously, it’s a different play style than Flacco. There wasn’t too much of a difference between what they did last year to this year’s game."
But Jackson has made some obvious advances throwing the ball. He completed 58 percent of his passes last season and never attempted more than 25 in any game. He's thrown the ball at least 34 times in each of his past three starts.
"He worked on his craft. He threw the ball a lot better," Fitzpatrick said of the change in Jackson. "They definitely put the ball in the air more than they did last year because now he’s their quarterback. They try not to run him as much. He’s going to try to take care of himself better."
But there are still flaws. The Browns blitzed Jackson a lot in their Week 3, 40-25 win over the Ravens, forcing him to throw his first two interceptions of the season and sacking him four times.
There are, however, obvious dangers. If you don't get there and he escapes the pocket, he can get big chunks of yardage quickly, either with his feet or his arm.
That's why the speed of Bush to pursue Jackson and the ability of Fitzpatrick to read what the quarterback is doing will be critical.
"My first instinct is to back up because I know he’s probably going to throw the ball," Fitzpatrick said of what he will do when Jackson breaks contain. "You’re taught if you’re the deep guy, stay deep. Once he crosses the line and he’s clearly crossed the line, then you come up. If you try and come up while he’s still running around in the backfield, somebody will get behind you. It’s tough for the corners and nickels to be running around chasing people in those situations and he might throw the ball over their heads. So you’ve got to stay deep, stay back there and make plays."