2022 Steelers used myriad, varied defensive schemes based on opponent

For their road game against the division-rival Cincinnati Bengals this season, the Pittsburgh Steelers deployed seven defensive backs who played at least 33 snaps.

Throughout their road game against another AFC North opponent, the Baltimore Ravens, the Steelers played seven defensive linemen.

In 2022, perhaps as much as ever and certainly more than in the franchise’s recent history, the Steelers went multiple and varied with their defensive personnel groupings.

Gone are the days of the not-so-distant past (think, early Mike Tomlin tenure) when the Steelers were in base 3-4 on first and second downs before going nickel in passing situations. This season, the Steelers had different looks from week to week — and sometimes, even possession to possession.

“I think it’s important that you’re able to do that and use your personnel to your best advantage,” defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said, “and not get pigeonholed into, ‘Hey, here’s where they’re going to be, and here’s how we’re going to block them.’

“That’s always our goal is to try to get our guys, the best guys on the field, to get us in the best position in the game. I think that’s something that I’m sure across the league people do it, but I know we’ve tried to really try to make sure that we’re giving our guys the best opportunity to perform.”

In Austin’s first season as the defensive play-caller, that meant some creative methods.

Sometimes, it meant a three-safety look. Other times, the Steelers would use an extra defensive lineman. There’d be traditional nickel (five defensive backs) and dime (six DBs), but within that, on occasion one of those defensive backs was merely a de facto inside linebacker. Or a defensive lineman by trade might be lined up out on the edge. Inside linebackers might come from the outside, too.

In short, you never knew what you might see from week to week or even snap to snap.

“I think it’s just specializing and using our players’ talents,” cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon said. “I think we have a unique group, and you would be silly to run guys out there the same every single down when other teams are changing personnel (groups) as well.

“I see where (switching things up) has its benefits and enjoy being a part of it.”

The Steelers had 16 starting defensive lineups over their 17 games. They used 447 combinations of lineups on the field among their 1,063 defensive snaps this past season. No single grouping of 11 players was together for more than 3.02% of those plays.

Among specific position groups, sometimes the division of labor might switch up. Arthur Maulet, for instance, might be the primary slot guy one week — but not a big part of the plan the next. Same with Tre Norwood. Cameron Sutton went from outside corner to the slot to hybrid linebacker with ease.

The Steelers are part of a leaguewide trend in this area. And as offenses have grown increasingly more sophisticated in recent years, defensive coordinators are learning how to punch back.

It might be easy to say the proliferation of the passing game brings out many of these innovative defensive adjustments. There’s truth in that, and the Steelers certainly have tried varied schemes against some of the league’s better aerial attacks in recent years. But over the past few seasons, a few offenses have gone the other way: run-heavy. And the Steelers have a pair of those opponents in their division.

That compelled them to, for example, dress an extra defensive lineman for late-season games against the Ravens and Cleveland Browns. When the Steelers made a change in their starting lineup at inside linebacker (rookie Mark Robinson in, Devin Bush out) for those games, Tomlin cited the specific matchup as to why.

“I think it’s a natural thing that you’re more specific, opponent-specific, division of labor-specific, as the season goes on,” Tomlin said. “With each passing week, you have more information. You have more information about yourselves and what you’re capable of. You have more tangible information and less speculation about the personnel and the other people that you face and how they’re utilizing it.”

Austin’s promotion to coordinator certainly played a role in the Steelers going so multiple with their defensive looks this season. The same goes for the addition of former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores to the defensive staff. Counting Tomlin, that’s three current or former NFL defensive coordinators in one gameplanning room.

Sutton said it was not a coincidence the Steelers defense was at its best at the end of the season.

“We were really getting into that comfortability level of finding out how guys play and see the game, moving around on the field … different looks, different disguises, having different versatile pieces on the back end, different personnel packages,” Sutton said. “We really kind of created a different identity that way.”

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