Steelers Ready for Primetime

by Bo Marchionte
@bomarchionte | College2Pro.com
Published January 8, 2025, 5:49 PM

Pittsburgh, PA – When the Steelers opened the season against the Jets, the defense that took the field looked stable, veteran-heavy and largely familiar. When they closed the regular season against the Ravens, the names didn’t change as dramatically as the usage did and that distinction helps explain why defensive coordinator Teryl Austin says he likes what the group has become.

“I mean, shoot, half the guys that haven’t been here,” Austin said earlier this week. “We got a whole bunch of guys just joined us after August.”

The Week 1 snap counts show just how much the Steelers leaned on certainty early. Against the Jets, 11 defenders accounted for the bulk of the defensive workload: Patrick Queen, Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay never left the field, each playing all 64 defensive snaps. Alex Highsmith (57 snaps), Payton Wilson (56), T.J. Watt (56) and Juan Thornhill (54) weren’t far behind. Keeanu Benton (47), Joey Porter Jr. (44), Cameron Heyward (43) and Chuck Clark (32) rounded out the top group.

That version of the defense leaned heavily on veteran coverage players and established roles. Slay and Ramsey handled every snap at corner. Thornhill and Clark absorbed most of the safety work. The front rotated, but Watt, Highsmith and Queen were already near full-time usage. Wilson was being asked to do a lot early, too, playing 88 percent of the defensive snaps.

Fast forward to Week 18 against Baltimore, and the starters looked similar at first glance, but the snap distribution told a different story with different players.

Queen again played every defensive snap (51). Joey Porter Jr. joined him at 100 percent, with Ramsey right behind at 98 percent. Highsmith (44 snaps), Benton (44) and Watt (43) remained central figures, while Heyward played 37 snaps as part of a more deliberate rotation.

The rest of the top-11 workload against the Ravens belonged to players who either weren’t core pieces in Week 1 or weren’t on the roster at all: Malik Harrison (36 snaps), Derrick Harmon (36), James Pierre (30) and Kyle Dugger (29). Asante Samuel Jr. also saw meaningful work, logging 21 defensive snaps.

That shift away from all-purpose veterans toward more defined, role-based usage is what Austin was describing when he talked about the defense settling in.

“When you get guys and they get on a moving train around here, sometimes it takes a little bit,” Austin said. “You may know them from where they came from, but until you’ve been in the battle with them, until you’ve been in meetings with them, practice you really don’t know.”

The biggest visible change is the absence of Slay, who played every snap in Week 1 and is no longer on the roster. Thornhill and Clark, who combined for 86 defensive snaps in the opener, were reduced to rotational or situational roles by season’s end. In their place, Dugger stepped into a clearly defined safety role, while Pierre and Harmon (injured in preseason) became steady contributors.

Up front, the evolution was more about clarity than change. Benton and Heyward remained anchors, but Harmon’s emergence allowed the Steelers to lean into heavier interior fronts late in the season. Harrison, who played just four defensive snaps in Week 1, became a Week 18 starter and logged more than 70 percent of the defensive plays.

Austin said that familiarity not talent acquisition has driven the improvement.

“And so, I have a little bit better feel for what they like, what they’re good at, what they’re maybe not so good at,” he said. “Ways, we can use them to help us.”

That comfort level is reeflected in how the Steelers deployed their defense late. The snap counts show less scatter, fewer emergency roles and more intentional usage. The stars stayed on the field, but the supporting cast became more clearly defined.

“I think as the season’s going on, I think we’ve played better,” Austin said. “Earlier in the year, there was a little bit, we kind of scattered shot a little bit everywhere, but I think we settled down. I like the product we’re putting out there a little bit better right now than I did earlier.”

A secondary reshape through injury and replacement players might be in their best position all season to provide the Steelers a unit to contend for wins in the playoffs. Just enough time for Austin and the defensive staff along with the overseer Mike Tomlin to feel confident.

Whether this is the Steelers’ best defensive group is something the playoffs will answer. What the numbers already show is that this is their most informed one shaped by months of trial, correction and familiarity.

“The bottom line is, we just want to win this game,” said Austin. “I think having the opportunity to be in the playoffs, have an opportunity, if you maybe get to move ahead and have an opportunity to try to win a Super Bowl. I think that’s the most important thing.”

Well said sir, that is exactly the most important thing.

Photo Credit Frank Hyatt/College2Pro.com