The Steelers are happy to be 8-and-0 and with good reason.
In no other season has this storied franchise won its first eight games. Yet they're not totally satisfied, also with good reason.
Six of their victories have been by one score and the last three came down to the final play – a missed field goal and a pair of Minkah Fitzpatrick pass break-ups. Big plays from a big play defense.
The Steelers lead the NFL with 32 sacks and 15 takeaways.
17 players have combined for 59 other tackles behind the line of scrimmage, led by Vince Williams who leads the league with 14 tackles for loss.
Former Steelers CB Bryant McFadden told us this week on The Fan Morning Show that it's contagious. "When everyone else is making plays, you want to make plays, too. No one wants a 0 on the tackle sheet."
But can that feeding frenzy come at a price?
After giving up 413 yards rushing through the first six games, the Steelers have allowed 409 the last two games alone – 265 in Baltimore and 144 in Dallas.
Cam Heyward suggested after the Cowboys game that they took some "unnecessary risks" which allowed QB Garrett Gilbert to scramble 3 times for 28 yards including one for 15 yards.
"We didn't have a lot of film on him so I kind of attribute that to that," Heyward reflected a few days later, but that doesn't explain the other 116 yards. "We just have to stay in our gaps," Heyward added.
Defensive Coordinator Keith Butler suggests this is more on the younger players. "They gotta know what everybody else is doing and they gotta do what they're supposed to do so everybody else can do their job. Cam knows what everybody else is doing around him."
Yet Heyward, himself, can be guilty of trying to do too much. "I can relate to one play (in Dallas) where I shot the gap and made the play but I put another guy in my gap. If you're going to take those risks, you have to make that play," which Heyward did with a sack and another tackle for loss.
That brings us to this Sunday's game against Cincinnati and rookie quarterback Joe Burrow who has been sacked 28 times, although he wasn't sacked at all last Sunday against Tennessee.
Nonetheless, Burrow and the Bengals would appear to present a target-rich environment. But Heyward says they'd better be careful. "What we have to remember is that he can run, too," Heyward cautions, "his mobility is unbelievable. They do a great job of designing runs (for him), especially in the high red zone," pointing out Burrow's 23-yard touchdown against the Chargers in Week One and Burrow had added two more touchdowns in the last three games.
Mike Tomlin and others have pointed out that the absence of slot corner Mike Hilton may have hurt the run defense more than the pass defense. It appears that Hilton will be a question mark for Sunday but nose tackle Tyson Alualu may be able to to return so that certainly won't hurt.
