Steelers HC explains how he shut down the Buccaneers
Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had no trouble getting to the red zone on Sunday. The problem was converting trips to touchdowns in those situations. The Pittsburgh Steelers defense allowed only one touchdown in four red zone trips. When asked about what Pittsburgh had done to keep Brady and friends from the end […]
Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had no trouble getting to the red zone on Sunday. The problem was converting trips to touchdowns in those situations. The Pittsburgh Steelers defense allowed only one touchdown in four red zone trips.
When asked about what Pittsburgh had done to keep Brady and friends from the end zone in those spots, Tomlin – as usual – didn't hesitate.
"I just thought we kept them off balance with some disguises and things of that nature," said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin postgame. "(Pass) rush and coverage kind of worked together."
"Guys played hard and understood what we were trying to do and they dressed it up," added Tomlin.
Some of that "disguise" that Tomlin talks about was evident when Steelers' edge rusher Malik Reed and defensive lineman Cam Heyward sacked Brady to force the Bucs' second field goal of the day.
In the clip below, notice how LB Robert Spillane (#41) mugs up in the line of scrimmage demanding left tackle Donovan Smith to honor him. Spillane drops back into coverage but Smith's hesitation is enough for Alex Highsmith to force Brady to climb the pocket into the arms of his teammates.
The above play illustrates Tomlin's comments perfectly:
"I don't know if it was one individual component of what it is. I just thought it was a collective."
Plenty of players stood out in those red zone stands but it should be noted this was a Bucs team that came into the game with high-end pass catchers and faced a defense that was missing TJ Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Cam Sutton, Ahkello Witherspoon, and Levi Wallace.
The fact that Tom Brady wasn't able to exploit that mismatch speaks volumes of the game plan Pittsburgh had in place. Give credit to Mike Tomlin and the coaching staff for that.
Although not a red zone situation, Devin Bush was undoubtedly the one to take home most of the praise after his elite pass breakup in a two-point attempt that would've tied it for the Bucs.
Overall, this was an impressive performance for the Steelers' defense. They held the Bucs to 4.5 yards per play (the NFL average is 5.5) and held Tampa Bay to 4-of-14 on third down. But if you want to be specific, it was the red zone defense that won this game.
Featured image via Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
