I just have one question for all of SteelerNation. How are we feeling on this victory Monday?! What a game on Sunday as our beloved Pittsburgh Steelers got their first victory of the new campaign. This battle against the Cincinnati Bengals had to be one of the wildest games I've seen. The Steelers secondary started off strong with a Minkah Fitzpatrick interception return for a touchdown in what was Joe Burrow’s first drive of the season. From there, the defensive effort stayed strong enough to steal a 23-20 victory.
The Steelers' defense as a whole, put their money where their mouth was and showed out with a dominant performance against a division opponent. This upgraded Steelers defense showed signs of the old Steel Curtain days totaling 7 defensive sacks and 4 interceptions, holding a fast-paced Bengals offense to just 20 points total. Cam Sutton, Fitzpatrick and Ahkello Witherspoon each contributed with an interception of their own and it was the Steelers' defense that was putting immense pressure on the Bengals' offense while the Mitchell Trubisky lead offense, struggled to keep up.
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Much has been expected of this Steelers' defense after some major additions during the off-season and so far they have lived up to the hype. The newest addition to the linebacker room Myles Jack was the second leading tackler behind Fitzpatrick. With 10 total tackles and his newest teammate in the secondary, Levi Wallace came up big in a few moments, including stopping Ja’marr Chase from scoring a touchdown that would have given the Bengals some serious momentum.
Although this game could have gone either way, there is no question the defense did their part. They were on the field for over a total of 100 plays and continued to fight in order to keep themselves in the ball game. Even when things did not go their way, this defense “didn’t blink” (as our beloved Head Coach Mike Tomlin would say) and their play on Sunday can only give them confidence for what they could potentially be this season.
“I’m proud of the way we played. Everybody came together, did their job, everybody fought even when they tied it up, we still fought and played hard," Fitzpatrick said. "This is definitely what Steeler football is and what we should expect in the future.”
The Steelers will be going into Sunday's game versus the New England Patriots without T.J. Watt most likely, as it has been reported that he has a “partially torn pec” and will likely miss one to two months on the field. This means, this secondary is going to have to continue doing its part in being an anchor for this defense and be a reliable unit week in and week out. They have to build off this performance in order to stay competitive in the AFC and their play this past weekend only gives Steeler Nation hope.
T.J. Watt (90) stares down division rival Cincinnati Bengals in a win / Credit: Abigail Dean. Steelers.com
“I think it's definitely one of the wildest ones I've been a part of, at least in my time here. But that's just the resilience of this team. Weathering the storm, not giving up on your brothers and the situations in the game. Just engineering victory, coming together, not dwelling on mistakes and things that didn't go our way.”
“Going into the year, high energy, flying around. The love for this game, the love for our brothers, we are just ready and willing to show it. Week in and week out, we prepare well, we are ready to play for each other and keep putting our best foot forward. That's a great start for us, but it's not the end, it's just the start," Sutton said.
Steelers cornerback Cameron Sutton on the field prior to a preseason game in 2022 | Credit: Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter JSKO_PHOTO)
Do you think this Steelers secondary can build off this past week's performance? Let us know in the comments below!
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