While edge rushers typically dominate postgame headlines in the Steel City, the secondary anchored the Pittsburgh Steelers' gritty 26-19 overtime road victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Former offensive lineman Wayne Gandy highlighted how dynamic safety play completely neutralized Tampa Bay's momentum on the ground.
Gandy noted on the “Steelers Squad Show,” that coming off a performance where the Buccaneers exploded for over 200 rushing yards, Tampa Bay’s running back tandem was held in check, accumulating only around 70 yards. The primary engine behind that total shutdown was the aggressive line-of-scrimmage deployment of Jaquan Brisker and Jalen Ramsey.
"Jaquan Brister and Jalen Ramsey, the two safeties, very dominant," Gandy said. "Best
secondary performance we've had this year as a whole secondary when you look across the board, in my opinion, but those two guys, coming off the edge, playing against the run. We took the running game away from them."
Rather than sitting in passive coverage shells, both defensive backs routinely triggered downhill into the box to shut down running lanes and unleash timely pressure off the edge.
Ramsey delivered a dominant stat line, registering 10 tackles (nine solo), four tackles for loss, and two clutch sacks, including the game-ending sack in overtime. Brisker added seven tackles, complementing Ramsey’s disruptive presence.
"Jalen Ramsay, he turned back the hands of time today because when he did blitz, he delivered on the sacks," Gandy emphasized. "When he was out in the open field, he made the open field tackle. I felt like the safety position today was the dominant factor especially defensively."
By shutting down Tampa Bay’s ground game and forcing obvious passing downs, Pittsburgh’s aggressive safety usage disrupted the offense and set a physical blueprint for the defense moving forward.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Inside the Steelers safety shift that eliminated the Bucs' run game
