Steelers' Jalen Ramsey Confident In New Chemistry With Kyle Dugger: “It’s Getting Better"

The Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing to take on the Cincinnati Bengals for the second time this season on Sunday afternoon, looking to get revenge on them after the Bengals won the first matchup 33-31 earlier in the season. One of the main reasons the Bengals were able to win the first game between the two teams was due to a defensive collapse in the final two minutes for Pittsburgh, as the Bengals were able to get the ball down the field consistently and kick a last minute field goal to win the game.

The Steelers' defense knows they can't afford to have another collapse like that again in the rematch. They were asked about what they needed to do to prevent this from happening again, and current Steelers cornerback Jalen Ramsey was asked his fair share of questions about what the defense needs to do differently this time around.

Ramsey was taking questions from the media earlier on Friday, and spoke about how he feels playing safety now and sharing the role with newly acquired Steelers defensive back Kyle Dugger. His reply is something that should give Steelers fans some optimism about their chemistry.

"It's a growing process, growing journey back there for me and us working together as well," Ramsey said. "So, I think it's getting better and better each week. It's a process, we just gotta make the team work."

Ramsey's comments are understandable, considering that this is the first time in his career that he's played primarily at safety as opposed to cornerback. Acquiring Dugger has paid dividends for the Steelers' defense so far, with his contributions creating an instant impact in his first game on the field. Dugger has not only given the Steelers a solid option at safety since arriving, but he has also helped with giving the position some depth after being brought in to replace current safety DeShon Elliott. His time at safety will undoubtedly help as he looks to help ease Ramsey's transition to safety, especially with a crucial matchup for the Steelers on the horizon.

The Steelers are facing a Bengals team who are giving up the most yards per game on average to the opposing teams at 426.6 yards per game, and the offense has to find a way to take advantage of this matchup. For the defense, Ramsey playing at the safety position with Dugger should allow the team much more flexibility on creating an improved scheme compared to the last time they played the Bengals. With both Ramsey and Dugger developing chemistry at safety together, it will hopefully ensure the Steelers do not let Bengals superstar wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase have another record breaking performance against them, like he had in the first matchup.

Even with how Ramsey is transitioning into his new role at safety, there's more ways that the former All-Pro can contribute against Cincy this week. Flashes of this were shown when Pittsburgh played against the Cleveland Browns back in Week 6.

Steelers Need To Use Ramsey On Blitz Packages More Often

Against the Browns in Week 6, Ramsey lined up in a position to blitz the quarterback on multiple occasions. He was incredibly successful in that game, recording two sacks and adding more of an exclamation mark to one of the Steelers' best games on defense of the season. Against the Bengals, the Steelers should send Ramsey on more of these blitz packages, as the Bengals have given the ball away 14 times, making them the team with the fourth highest amount of giveaways. The Steelers need to exploit this in any way they can, and adding some sacks to Ramsey's total would be a great starting point.

Sending Ramsey on these blitz packages and keeping Dugger in coverage can only be a net positive against the Bengals, opening them up for consistent takeaways.

What did you think about Ramsey's comments regarding building chemistry with Dugger? Let us know in the comments or on X at @SteelersSwamp7.

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