Darius Slay has gotten banged up during quite a few games this season. Against the Chargers two weeks ago, he suffered a more serious injury, leaving the game with a concussion. In his absence, James Pierre came onto the field. Pierre had some nice moments against the Chargers. He then started against Cincinnati last Sunday as Slay recovered from his concussion. And Pierre had another nice showing in the Steelers’ 34-12 win. With Slay’s disappointing start to the season, Pierre has made quite an argument to remain in the starting lineup.
However, Mike Tomlin said earlier this week that Slay will still have a role Sunday assuming he is healthy enough to play. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin offered a similar answer Thursday but acknowledged that Pierre is becoming harder and harder to keep off the field.
“Yeah, I think obviously JP has done a heck of a job when he’s stepped in for Slay, and he’s done that,” Austin said via a team-provided transcript. “When you have Slay, we have some veteran experience. I think what we’ll do is we’ll see how that works out, and in terms of where we want to utilize JP because I think he’s earned the right to be on the field, and we’ll just go from there.”
Pierre certainly has forced his way into the conversation. He made headlines with his 34-yard fumble return for a touchdown against the Bengals, but that was just a microcosm of a tremendous game for him.
Really, Pierre playing well against the Bengals after Slay struggled in the first matchup against them is a telltale sign. Pierre did benefit from a much better game plan this time around, but he was able to keep up with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins in man coverage.
It was much better than Slay’s performance against the same receiving corps a month ago. Never mind Chase and Higgins, Slay even struggling with the Bengals’ third receiver, Andrei Iosivas.
It’s a small sample size for Pierre, but he’s been very good. He’s allowed just 10 receptions on 23 targets this year. Eight of those 13 incompletions are passes Pierre has broken up himself. In his sixth NFL season, Pierre is finally starting to take advantage of his playing time, and he’s been a pleasant surprise on defense.
While the coaching staff intends to play Slay this week, he likely won’t have a long leash. The Steelers have found a rhythm in their secondary, and Chicago has a solid passing attack. If there are any early mistakes from Slay, expect Pierre to get his chance.
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