PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Changes to the Steelers defense leading into this season, especially in the secondary, had team players, coaches and fans excited about the possibilities this season. How they now had a starting group that could stand with teams like Cincinnati.
Sunday, that defense did finally stand up to the Bengals after a brutal performance in the first meeting. But they didn’t do so with the new starters as much as they did with backups or players who weren’t even on the team early in the season.
It was Kyle Dugger, Brandin Echols and James Pierre who made the difference in the Steelers getting a 32-13 win and keeping a team that had lost three of four in first place.
It started with Dugger, acquired from the Patriots where he had fallen out of favor. The safety started out of necessity after just two practices and performed well against the Colts. Earlier in the Bengals game Sunday he missed out on an interception, later in the game with Cincinnati down four and driving, facing a third-and-nine at the Steelers 35, Dugger intercepted a pass and wove his way 74 yards for a touchdown.
“Score, that’s really it,” Dugger said of his thoughts. “Someone gives you a gift like that, you got to maximize it for the defense, for the team.”
Dugger had a game this year with the Patriots where he played one defensive snap, another seven, he only played 18 against the Steelers. Now he’s playing every snap with the Steelers, and he even had to take over the communication when Jalen Ramsey was ejected early in the fourth quarter.
“My teammates, their communication, the way they’ve been helping me, supporting me, and my coaches, the help with studying,” Dugger credited for quickly adapting to the Steelers defense. “They’ve been helping me get acclimated and making sure I’m always right when I make the wrong call. The way they’ve embraced me and continued to help me.”
“He's a veteran player that's been there, done that guy,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. “That's why we coveted him at the trade deadline. He's been an asset to us certainly, and increasingly so. I'm excited about moving forward with him as he continues to get solid in assignments, communication and understanding.”
“I mean, that dude has made a career out of being the next man-up mentality,” linebacker Nick Herbig said of Dugger. “He is from Lenior-Rhyne (college). You know what I’m saying? To be able to do what he’s done and have the career he’s had so far, that doesn’t just happen. You know what I mean? There’s work that is put in behind the scenes that people don’t see. That dude has put in a lot of blood, sweat and tears to be where he’s at today.”
The game was clinched on Sunday as Echols forced Cincinnati tight end Noah Fant to fumble after a reception and it was picked up by Pierre and returned 32 yards for a touchdown, as the corner flipped over the goal line.
“I didn’t know what I was going to do, I just knew I was going to do something,” Pierre said.
Pierre was released at the end of training camp this year and ended up signing on the practice squad. This for a corner who has played 90 games for the Steelers. The team brought in corners Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay, along with Echols and believed in the promise of Cory Trice. Yet Pierre kept working. Along with the touchdown, he was the Steelers third-leading tackler Sunday with six.
“Doing what coaches ask me to do, when coaches tell us what they might do, be ready for what they might do,” Pierre said.
“He's grown throughout the years,” Tomlin said. “He's gotten better with each and every year he's been here with his roles and his ability to respond to
opportunity and so forth. There's a veteran high level of consistency that we're seeing right now. That's why I talked about him the way Italked about him, I think, on Tuesday.”
Echols signed as a free agent with the Steelers, but wasn’t able to start. Slay and Joey Porter, Junior were at corner and Ramsey at slot. In the first game Echols played 10 snaps, against Green Bay, nine. The 28-year-old had seven tackles Sunday, second on the team.
“Those guys are ballers,” said linebacker Nick Herbig. “JP, BE (Brandin Echols), he’s a dog, too. Dugger, a dog. All the boys, dogs. They come in—whenever their number is called, they just come in and keep making plays, consistently showing up on film playing Steeler football. You love to see that, man. You know, Coach always says the standard is the standard regardless of who is in the game. It’s the next-man-up mentality and those guys exemplify that to the highest level.”