By: Michael Stiffler, @Stiffeezy_ on Twitter
SteelerNation.com
The Pittsburgh Steelers were able to walk away from Sunday's matchup with a huge win, but they were not able to be unscathed. They were dealt two big injuries to their defensive line with Tyson Alualu and Cam Heyward both suffering knee injuries, this adds onto Chris Wormley heading to IR. While the injury to the All-Pro Heyward is not serious per Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the nature of Alualu's injury is unknown. This is a crushing blow to the Steelers front seven as Alualu is having a career year for the Steelers. Pro Football Focus has him graded as one of the best defenders in the NFL only behind players like TJ Watt, Aaron Donald, and Khalil Mack.
Highest-graded defenders:
— PFF (@PFF) October 31, 2020
1. T.J. Watt - 93.0
2. Aaron Donald - 91.9
3. Khalil Mack - 91.5
4. Tyson Alualu - 91.4
5. Jaire Alexander - 90.8 pic.twitter.com/9aCjD0jPVz
As we await the news, hopefully minor in nature, head coach Mike Tomlin always says, "Next man up." That man who will be tasked with filling that void on the defensive line is Isaiah Buggs. To give some background on Buggs, he was the Steelers sixth round pick in 2019 out of Alabama. During his time with the Crimson Tide, he was coached by now Steelers defensive line coach, Karl Dunbar. Buggs saw significant action against the Ravens but it was due to availability rather than ability as Buggs was a healthy scratch last week against the Tennessee Titans. Steelers fans everywhere will want to praise his performance today but Tomlin was more neutral when discussing the play of Buggs.
Mike Tomlin on Isaiah Buggs making big plays in the second half: "He needed to. When he first came in there, he wasn't."
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) November 1, 2020
'He had to knuckle down and get active and he did.' - Coach Mike Tomlin on @BigPooh_91 contribution
— Teresa Varley (@Teresa_Varley) November 1, 2020
Now the optimist in SteelerNation is Sunday was his first real taste of action to prove himself. There are bound to be growing pains for a second year player who only saw a total of 75 snaps last season, but the second half plays he did make against the Ravens are something to build up his confidence. He made arguably the biggest play of the game by shedding the block on 4th and 3 to trip Lamar Jackson short of the 1st down marker, and for that, there is hope he can continue to make the plays that are needed.
The @Steelers get the stop on 4th down.
— NFL (@NFL) November 1, 2020
📺: #PITvsBAL on CBS
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/J6oAb5WnGm pic.twitter.com/77VcQfi1No
What are your thoughts on his performance on Sunday? Drop a comment below!
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