New York Giants Week 8: A Look at the Pittsburgh Steelers Defense

Can a struggling New York Giants offense figure things out against a stifling Pittsburgh Steelers defense?

Oct 1, 2017; Baltimore, MD, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker TJ Watt (90) defends a pass against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images / Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

The New York Giants offense is still trying to figure things out almost halfway through the season. Over the past two weeks, it has scored a combined ten points, while the Pittsburgh Steelers have allowed just 28 points, making this upcoming matchup on Monday night a very bad one on paper.

Personnel

The Steelers defensive front is near the top of the NFL in terms of pure talent, led by T.J. Watt and Cameron Heyward, the latter of whom is playing some of the best football of his career at 35 years old.

The duo has combined for 38 pressures so far this season despite both seeing consistent double teams by opposing offenses.

Alex Highsmith is the edge starting opposite Watt. Nick Herbig is out withan  injury and while he’s still a stout run defender, he’s been relatively ineffective as a pass-rusher this year outside of facing the ghost of Tyron Smith’s past last week.

Keeanu Benton and Larry Ogunjobi are the interior defensive linemen that will line up with Heyward on the interior. Ogunjobi has been relatively ineffective this season, while Benton has shown improvement in his second year as a pro. 

Benton’s raw power on the interior could give the Giants trouble as a pass-rusher, especially in obvious passing situations.

At linebacker, the Steelers are very modern. They have two rangey, athletic linebackers, Patrick Queen and rookie Payton Wilson, who are willing and able to come in as thumpers.

Queen has been playing bad football this season when he cannot operate as a heat-seeking missile and is forced to play with awareness.

The Steelers' secondary has been dealing with injuries this year, mostly to its depth, and they should be returning some players there.

The starting outside cornerbacks will likely be Joey Porter, Jr. and Donte Jackson, who left last week’s game early against the Jets but is expected to return this week.

Porter has been very hot and cold this season in his second year in the NFL. He struggled against Michael Pittman Jr. but played well against inferior receivers against the Raiders and Cowboys when he rarely matched up with CeeDee Lamb.

On the other hand, Jackson has a lot of athleticism and has played fairly well, considering his expectations when healthy. 

While it may be Jackson’s first year in Pittsburgh, he’s mostly familiar with the coverage calls from his time with the Panthers, and that’s helped him contribute effectively immediately.

In the slot, Beanie Bishop, Jr has made a name for himself as an opportunistic yet big-play-prone slot defender. 

Bishop Jr. will be coming off a career game against the Jets last week, in which he had two interceptions.

The safety room has DeShon Elliott and Minkah Fitzpatrick, who are the forces that allow the defense to operate as it does.

Fitzpatrick is still one of the best deep safeties in the NFL, while Elliott provides the versatility to line up anywhere along the defensive formation and be effective.

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Scheme

There’s only one team that plays more Cover 3 than the Steelers right now. Despite the NFL shifting to becoming a two-high league, the Steelers are still perfectly fine living out of single-high pre-snap and post-snap.

On the bright side, the Steelers' defense is one of the more predictable in the NFL in terms of which coverage they play, as almost half of their snaps are Cover 3.

On the dark side, the Steelers are really good at playing Cover 3.

When the Steelers blitz, either Queen or Elliott will likely rush in. Both usually rush from the interior of the defensive front, allowing the Steelers to occasionally drop an edge rusher into coverage.

Given the Steelers' zone-heavy nature, condensed formations can bring a player like Porter Jr. down into the box, and offenses can find ways to manipulate that to their advantage with quick passes to the flat or outside runs to that side. 

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Overview

The Raiders managed to get Brock Bowers matched up with Porter multiple times with success. If the Giants can get Theo Johnson matched up against Porter, then getting the ball to a player with Johnson as a blocker should be a priority.

I think the Giants need to look for ways to keep an additional pass-protector in for Daniel Jones against the Steelers, who have the seventh-lowest blitz rate in the NFL but the fifth-quickest time to pressure.

The Steelers have been exceptional at preventing quarterback runs this season but have yet to face a quarterback that can run the way Jones can, and they should be tested appropriately there.

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