Once-Vaunted Pittsburgh Steelers Defense Back in Dominant Form

The Pittsburgh Steelers looked like they would have to climb an uphill battle when starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suffered a knee injury in Week 3 against the St. Louis Rams. With Mike Vick (and now, Landry Jones) holding down the fort at the position and Pittsburgh's defense giving up numerous big plays, it seemed like weeks of struggle would be ahead for the team during Roethlisberger's absence.

But Pittsburgh's defense has stepped up on a weekly basis. And though it's not perfect, it's more than enough to lead the Steelers to two wins and just one (overtime) loss without Roethlisberger. That defense kept the Steelers in Sunday's 25-13 win over the Arizona Cardinals even when it seemed like all offensive hope was initially lost.

Stat	Value
Total Tackles	65
Tackles for Loss	6
Pass Defensed	8
Sacks	1.0
QB Hits	7
Interceptions	2
Fumbles Forced/Recovered	1/1

The Steelers had only 59 yards of total offense by halftime, with the Cardinals boasting 279, with 233 of those passing yards. But they held the Cardinals to just 10 points at the game's halfway point and only conceded a field goal the rest of the day. This was the NFL's highest-scoring offense coming into Week 6, with the Cardinals averaging 38 points per game.

That's not to say that the Steelers didn't give up big plays. They allowed receptions of 44, 45 and 32 yards to Larry Fitzgerald, John Brown and Andre Ellington, respectively. But those were the only big plays the defense gave up on Sunday and they all came in the first half. 

By the time the game had ended, the Steelers had given up just 190 second-half yards to the Cardinals. Arizona converted just five of their 12 third-down attempts and scored only once in four red-zone appearances. But, most notably, the Steelers defense was able to generate turnovers—turnovers that became the Cardinals' undoing. 

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

The first, a Lawrence Timmons interception of Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer, led to a Pittsburgh punt. The second, an end-zone interception grabbed by safety Mike Mitchell, resulted in a Steelers touchdown drive. The third, a fumble recovery by James Harrison, resulted in an 88-yard catch-and-run by Pittsburgh receiver Martavis Bryant that sealed the victory for the Steelers.

The two picks brings Pittsburgh's interception total to five, while the team has now forced five fumbles, with four recoveries. The Steelers also added a sack on Sunday, bringing the total to 17. Though they got to Palmer only once, he was hit a total of seven times. 

Pittsburgh also had six tackles for a loss along with eight passes defensed. All told, Pittsburgh's defense has stepped up considerably, picking up slack for the offense when it's been necessary. There are aspects that still need to be cleaned up, but every week, the secondary, the front seven and the tackling are showing steady improvement.

If the Steelers' defense can keep this up until and when Roethlisberger comes back, this is going to be a very dangerous team in the crucial second half of the season. Where once Pittsburgh's defense was considered the team's biggest weakness, it's quickly becoming one of its strengths. The timing couldn't have been better.