The Steelers have played some of their best defense of the season in the past three weeks, and it’s hardly a coincidence. While the reconfigured secondary is undoubtedly a factor, that’s not the only thing that has changed. As others have observed, the defense has also offered more varied looks—and thus less predictability.
credit where it's due:
Steelers have done a GREAT JOB of being less predictable lately
wk 11 v CIN: lowest man coverage this year (16%) & 12% blitz rate (lowest this year)
wk 10 v LAC: highest man coverage this year (49%) & 38% blitz rate
wk 9 v IND: highest Cover-6 this year pic.twitter.com/Lpx2im2P2s
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) November 19, 2025
The leader of the Steelers’ defense, DC Teryl Austin, acknowledged as much, speaking to reporters on Thursday. While they often talk about flexibility and variety, they don’t often show it as much as they have recently. It’s a small sample size, but it’s something.
“Being able to be flexible in what we do and how we stop people is important,” Austin said of the defense’s more varied looks via transcript from the Steelers’ media department. “If I’m an offensive coordinator and I say, ‘Hey, listen, I could book these guys for this every time,’ they’ll be able to devise plays to get into the type of situations they want to get into.”
Whether it’s tweaking man versus zone coverage, safety positions, blitz rates, or other factors, the Steelers have been doing more in recent weeks to keep defenses on their toes. In other ways, they have simplified things, contributing to tighter and more disciplined play. No matter how good you are, if you’re always doing the same thing, your predictability will sell you out. And Austin knows the Steelers can’t slow that down now on defense, given the success.
“If we can, and I can, continue to mix it up and not give them something that they can just, ‘Okay, hey, this is what we have,’ that gives us an advantage. Because I stand up here, and I’ve said it before, I think we have good players. So that allows them to play and not play at a disadvantage. I’ve got to continue to try to do my best for our guys to get them in the best positions so they can perform.”
One player who has performed well is Joey Porter Jr., the third-year cornerback. The Steelers need to know if he can be their top corner on defense. While he has his weaknesses, he is showing signs of that ability. But they’ll have to put their money where their mouth is next offseason, as he is due for an extension.
For a defense that admits it relies on turnovers, however, the Steelers have a challenge against the Bears. They don’t turn the ball over frequently, and Pittsburgh is 1-3 without a takeaway. In fact, the Steelers are 2-4 when they don’t win the turnover battle, 4-0 when they do. If they can get to Caleb Williams, who has 15 fumbles in his career, that could be the difference. And that starts with keeping him in the pocket, another priority this week.
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