Steelers Defense Dominates "7 Shots" Again, As DBs Step Up In Big Way

The Pittsburgh Steelers defense is officially settling in at 2023 training camp in Latrobe. After a nice start to camp from the offense, the defense has dominated in the second week. That continued on Thursday, just a day before fans get to see the team in action in Latrobe in the annual “Friday Night Lights.” In Thursday’s “7 Shots,” the offense only scored one touchdown. 

That score happened to be on the first play too, as quarterback Kenny Pickett continues to develop his relationship with George Pickens. The two came in the same draft class together, and it seems like the wideout is Pickett’s favorite option in the passing game. The quarterback connected with Pickens for a touchdown on the first rep, which would be the offense’s only win. Pickens continued to make more impressive catches on the day as well, something that's become common for a guy with his talent.

On Wednesday, the offense scored two touchdowns to start, but the defense held them down after that. Notable standouts from Thursday’s “7 Shots” include defensive back, Tre Norwood. He had two pass breakups, and he’ll need more of that to make the 53-man roster for a third consecutive season. While he has shown flashes in his two years in Pittsburgh, Norwood saw less playing time in 2022 due to inconsistencies.

That has boiled over into training camp, as our own Brandon “B-Wall” Wallace reported that the Oklahoma product has been inconsistent at camp so far. He’ll need it even more so because there have been several standouts from camp so far in that defensive back room. Notably, West Virginia product, Kenny Robinson and journeyman, Elijah Riley have stepped up in the absence of the starters. 

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Speaking of, Robinson also had a pass breakup in one of the last few reps. With the team's top three safeties out, Robinson and Norwood were actually the first-team safeties on Thursday. Elsewhere, Alex Highsmith continued to show tremendous signs on Thursday. He had a breakout season in 2022, which included a career-high 14.5 sacks, and signed a huge four-year, $68 million contract extension recently. 

That hasn’t slowed him down though, as he’s arguably been the defense’s best player in training camp to this point. He’s been very disruptive, and it's disrupted some of the offensive line's rhythm. Overall, the quarterbacks had their fair share of struggles on Thursday. Pickett went 1-for-4, which did include that touchdown strike to Pickens. Backup, Mitch Trubisky went 0-for-3, which included a throw behind receiver, Hakeem Butler. 

Overall, this is not a great sign for an offense that struggled a ton in 2022, particularly in the red zone. In fact, the crowd is cheering for moments when the offense does well according to Mark Kaboly of The Athletic. It may sound silly, but things are typically the opposite in Latrobe. At this point, fans just want to see some improvement on the offensive side of the ball. The overall success of the 2023 season may depend on Pickett and co.

With the defense dominating the last few days, are you starting to become concerned about the offense yet? What does the offense need to do to get rid of those red zone struggles from last season? Who has been the main surprises from camp so far? Share your thoughts in the comment section below, yinz!

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