The Steelers' defense is off to one of its best starts in years. They've only allowed 26 points through the first three games of the season, the franchise's lowest mark since 2007. And, although it was one of the defense's biggest concerns heading into the season, the defensive line's play has been the key reason for the unit's success early on.
Seriously, the defense held the Chargers to -5 yards in the second half of Sunday's 20-10 victory to improve to 3-0. It doesn't matter if Justin Herbert wasn't at quarterback for the Chargers in the fourth quarter. Holding any NFL offense with any quarterback to that number is sheer dominance. There's no other way to describe it.
Now, the defense is playing great as a whole. They're playing complementary football. All three levels of the defense are supporting each other in the best way possible. But, that only has the chance to become elite defensive play if the defensive line wins up front. And, "winning" might be underselling what the defensive line is doing.
Here's a clearer picture to see what's going on. The video is over 20 minutes long, but I've lined out 11 plays from Sunday's win to show you what I'm talking about. You'll see great plays from the second and third levels of the defense, including Joey Porter Jr., but the main constant is the defensive line winning rep after rep up front:
Throw away any concerns you had over Cam Heyward. Maybe the only valid one left is if a 35-year-old can sustain this type of dominance up front for a whole 17-game season, and from the way things have started, perhaps at least one playoff game. But, until further notice, there just isn't room for actual doubt regarding Heyward. He's still playing with the same brute strength we've seen for years.
And, I have to give Porter his credit. He deserves every bit of praise for his growth as a tackler and run defender. He just couldn't tackle one calendar year ago. Now, in a game against a team that was having its way on the ground through the first two weeks of the season, Porter's run support on the edges played a big role in forcing running backs back to the inside and letting the defensive linemen eat.
Cornerbacks being active in run defense is something the Steelers emphasize, and will continue to do so. Tomlin won't sit back and let those guys at cornerback be complacent.
"They've done the job, but it's week to week at corner," Tomlin said during his Tuesday press conference at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "I'm gonna keep challenging those two. One's young and the other one is little (Donte Jackson), and so I like challenging them. But make no mistake, man, they're riding the wave that the front is providing. But we've invested a lot in resources and time into that group, and so we're not surprised by their effectiveness."
Above all else, Heyward's dominance in the trenches really is a game-changer, especially when you couple it with the continued rise of Keeanu Benton. Remember, Benton will be double-teamed the most often on run plays. That comes with the territory of being the primary nose tackle. But, even when he's not shedding blocks, even him preventing linemen from gaining proper leverage or getting to the second level on specific run concepts is a win. That's eating up space, and the Steelers have plenty of good linebackers to clean up the trash.
With Heyward getting back to his typical form, this truly makes the Steelers' defense something for opponents to fear on a weekly basis. They can afford to have slot cornerback be the biggest weakness right now. And, to be fair, Beanie Bishop hasn't played all that bad, and Cam Sutton will eventually re-join the team after his eight-game suspension. Once that happens, should they remain healthy on defense, there won't be any glaring holes.
The Steelers' depth on defense is already being tested as Alex Highsmith will be out for at least one game, if not more. It'll be up to Nick Herbig and DeMarvin Leal to help make up for that loss, and Herbig got off to a great start with a two-sack performance against the Chargers.
But, Heyward's play thus far has justified the Steelers' commitment to him with the new contract he signed prior to the beginning of the season.
"I don't think anybody is surprised by what Cam did last Sunday or what Cam has done," Tomlin said Tuesday. "His talents are his talents. His commitment, his approach to work, are equally as impressive. His leadership is as well, in this building and in the community. He's a Walter Payton Man of the Year. I mean, it's Cam Heyward."
