During their loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 7, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense was criticized heavily for its lack of adjustments. The Steelers elected to keep one deep safety and play man coverage across the board for a large portion of that game, and were promptly torn apart.
This time around things were much better. Part of the reason for that is the Steelers played with two high safeties more than they usually do, which helped minimize Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins as downfield threats. Pro Football Focus’ Dalton Wasserman liked that adjustment and thinks the Steelers should utilize it more going forward.
“Where are the adjustments? Well, the second time around the Steelers make the adjustments. A lot more two-high looks. Forty-one snaps on defense in this game of either a two-high look, or they had brackets mixed in there, where they’re doubling Chase and/or Higgins,” Wasserman said Monday on The PFF NFL Show. “You don’t let Chase or Higgins just get all those one-on-ones. You don’t let them get over the top all the time. Mike Tomlin, Teryl Austin made the adjustment on defense. They contained this Bengals offense, obviously, a lot better than last time.”
Playing with two high safeties wasn’t something the Steelers did often prior to Sunday. Per Football Insights on X, from Weeks 1-10, a combined 62 percent of the Steelers’ defensive snaps came from Cover 1 and Cover 3, both of which have one high safety. The Steelers also play a little Cover 4, as well as both Cover 2 zone and man sporadically. Yet none are at nearly as high of a rate.
But the Steelers experimented with two-high safety a little more on Sunday with a lot of success. They contained both Chase and Higgins, save for the latter’s early 28-yard touchdown catch, and although they gave up some rushing yards, it was a strong performance. There’s been a few bright spots on the unit over the last few weeks, one of which is its new safety tandem.
Jalen Ramsey and Kyle Dugger work well together. And having Ramsey back there allows Dugger to float closer to the line of scrimmage, and vice versa. It helped Dugger find the perfect spot in coverage on his 73-yard pick-six.
Obviously, playing with two deep safeties only works well if the safeties themselves are playing well. Dugger and Ramsey did as much on Sunday, before the latter’s ejection in the fourth quarter. Chuck Clark had ups and downs, but he helped Brandin Echols lay a hit on a receiver that eventually forced the ball out, which James Pierre ran back 34 yards to the end zone.
Mike Tomlin and Teryl Austin deserve credit for the adjustments they made on Sunday. Now, it’s about building consistency. We’ve seen ups and downs from the Steelers’ defense. But if the unit is going to get this level of play from the safeties, more two-high coverages isn’t a bad idea.
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