**Coming together:** It's often been said, you play like you practice.
And the last two weeks, that has been the case for the Steelers.
They have had multiple weeks of strong practices, and it is showing with the results, having won back-to-back games.
"Week to week we're doing a better job of preparing and really being intentional about what we want to get done each day that we're out there, especially the padded practices each week," said linebacker Jack Sawyer. "You can really put your hands on somebody and get that real live look of playing football. We are being intentional about it, going out there and working on our craft in a really good way and it's showing on Sundays.
"We're just continuing to play better and win our one-on-ones up front. I thought the interior guys did a great job pushing the pocket for us all day (against Tampa). I was saying collectively, we played really well and played aggressively when it came to rushing the passer."
The defense allowed just 19 points in the overtime win against Tampa on Sunday, the lowest points allowed since Week 1 against the Falcons, while giving up only one touchdown and holding them to field goals the rest of the day.
It is what they set out to do when the season started, but understand they have to keep it up.
"Whenever you can hold a team to a field goal instead of a touchdown, it's a huge win for the team," said Sawyer. "We knew we had some things we could build off, but ultimately, we knew we had the things that we had to clean up too. Once we did, it will look a certain way and we'll be happy with the results.
"It's just a daily thing, getting in the building, studying, practice is huge, the preparation has been great. And then going out there and executing at a high level come game day."
One player who Sawyer has witnessed brining that high level energy every day for the defense is Jalen Ramsey, who was the heart and soul of the defense against Tampa.
"He's just flying around," said Sawyer. "He is all over the field. He brings that intensity every day to practice. He practices like it's a game. That's one thing that I respected about him, being a rookie last year, is he is a player who's been All Pro, has had a bunch of big contracts. And he still goes out there and plays so hard every practice, every snap. It was motivating for us young guys last year to see.
"It's nothing new having him fly around and make the hits, the sacks, the pass breakups. He's a one-of-one type of player on the defensive side of the ball. He means a lot to this team.
"He's a great leader. He sets the tone, sets the example, what it's supposed to look like every day. And he's fun to play with."