Last week, Dave Dameshek asked me who was the one piece on defense the Steelers couldn’t afford to lose. I said that we may find out it was Joey Porter, as the Browns were able to have their way with the Steelers’ secondary and the cornerback room was wearing very thin.
It turns out the glue to the defense wasn’t Porter, though – it’s Jalen Ramsey.
The future Hall of Fame defensive back had one of the best games of his career on Sunday, totaling 10 tackles, four tackles for loss, and two sacks, including
the game-sealing sack on 4th-and-8 in overtime to clinch a 26-19 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Lest we forget that Ramsey is doing all of this with a broken wrist that he suffered in Week 1. Yet despite that injury, he hasn’t missed a game, and his versatility has been exactly what the Steelers had hoped it would be when Patrick Graham said he would play the STAR role. Per Sumer Sports, Ramsey has eight run stops – that is tied for the league lead among all cornerbacks with Cooper DeJean of the Philadelphia Eagles. His two sacks are tied for second among corners, as Kyler Gordon made his return to the Chicago Bears’ lineup in Week 6 and had three in one game. His reliability in this role, combined with his tackling ability (only two missed tackles on the season) has made him irreplaceable. Players like Ramsey evolve as they get to the final holes of their career, and he has done just that. While he may no longer be the outside bump-and-run man-to-man lockdown cornerback he was in the late 2010s, his pure talent as a football player has seen him grow into being dominant as this Joker in the deck for the Steelers’ defense. Some guys lead with words, Ramsey leads by example – playing hurt, not making excuses, and showing that he is still more than capable of directly impacting the outcome of games.
It’s the morning after game day, and the Steelers are tied for the lead in the AFC North.
Jamel Dean’s record day
The Steelers signed Jamel Dean away from Tampa in the offseason with the hopes of forming a tremendous one-two punch at corner with he and Joey Porter. Obviously, Porter is now gone and Dean has become the top dog at the position, and he answered the bell against his former team with a tremendous performance.
Dean broke up six passes, which is a single-game record for the Steelers. Additionally, he allowed just three receptions on 11 targets, which is the second-lowest number of catches allowed when targeted 10 times this season. Who is first? His teammate, Asante Samuel Jr, who allowed two catches on 10 targets last week against the Indianapolis Colts.
And not to pat myself on the back, but when I made the Steelers’ mock schedule and predictions in the offseason, I said Jamel Dean would have a game-sealing interception.
Dean has been tremendous, and is a big reason why the Steelers currently rank top 10 in EPA against the pass and success rate.
Special teams struggles
The coach the Steelers miss the most was standing on the other sideline on Sunday. Danny Smith’s special teams unit was always a reliable one for the Steelers – the same cannot be said about this current group. Kaden Wetjen had a terrific 59-yard kickoff return negated by a Cole Holcomb penalty, which took the Steelers from starting at Tampa Bay’s 41 to starting at their own 20. There was another special team penalty on a punt, this one on Doneiko Slaughter. The Steelers were set to start at the Bucs’ 44 yard-line but instead had to start at their own 46. Throw in yet another Chris Boswell missed field goal, and you have a unit that has done a 180 over the course of just six games.
Quick hitters
- Nick Herbig was awesome, recording his first two sacks of the season. Need to see more of that going forward.
- We talked about it across our other post-game pieces, but what a performance from both DK Metcalf and Germie Bernard. Both stepped up in massive ways, combining for 22 receptions.
- If the Steelers are going to be aggressive before the trade deadline, safety and linebacker are far bigger needs than receiver. Dare I say call the Chargers about Derwin James.
- Congrats to Yahya Black for his first career sack and Daylen Everette for his first career interception. Big plays from young building blocks.
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