Mike Tomlin sees Steelers 'getting better in all areas' through 3 weeks of season

It wasn’t just that the Pittsburgh Steelers went on the road last weekend and won for second consecutive time that impressed coach Mike Tomlin.

It was the way the Steelers played in a 23-18 victory against the Las Vegas Raiders that grabbed his attention.

The offense scored two touchdowns — matching its season output through the first two weeks. The defense showed it could stop the run and intercepted three passes to halt drives. Pressley Harvin had some booming punts, and Chris Boswell remained perfect with three more field goals.

“I feel like we’re getting better in all areas,” Tomlin said Tuesday at his weekly press conference. “That is a reasonable expectation and mindset to have this time of year. Our business is to win games, no doubt. … In the pursuit of those victories, you’ve got to build, and it just feels like we are getting better.”

The victory did have its warts. The defense allowed 324 passing yards — a season high — with the Raiders scoring 11 points in the fourth quarter to make the outcome interesting. And the offense still has scored one fewer touchdown through three games than the Miami Dolphins put up in the first half Sunday.

Still, Tomlin thought the good outweighed the bad.

“I saw some signs there to build upon in the midst of earning a victory,” he said.

The Steelers (2-1) will try to continue their winning streak Sunday when they visit the Houston Texans (1-2) at NRG Stadium. The Texans are coming off their first win of the season, which grabbed Tomlin’s attention because it came on the road at division-favorite Jacksonville, 37-17.

Tomlin doesn’t expect to have the same type of crowd support the Steelers were provided in Las Vegas. With the Steelers playing there for the first time, thousands of fans flocked to the desert and brought their Terrible Towels with them. At least half of the 62,541 fans in attendance supported the Steelers to the point that the Raiders also had to go to a silent count when on offense.

“We had a really nice environment in Vegas,” he said. “It was almost home-like. Kudos to Steeler Nation. We might get challenged more from a hostile environment perspective in Houston, but we might not. Steeler Nation might show up in Houston as well, and I’d be glad to see them if they do.”

Dealing with the crowd noise wasn’t an issue with the defense. Several players after the game said the communication was better than it had been in the first two weeks. Relaying the proper play calls is imperative for any defense, but particularly one that plays so many subpackages. From the rotations on the line to linebacker to the secondary, the Steelers had 21 players take defensive snaps against the Raiders.

“We were communicating like crazy out there,” inside linebacker Cole Holcomb said. “It’s getting to the point where we are jelling as a defense.”

The team took a step forward against the Raiders in stopping the run. After allowing 188 and 198 yards in games against San Francisco and Cleveland, the Steelers yielded 69 to the Raiders. The Steelers were effective at limiting big runs. The 49ers had a 65-yard touchdown run, and the Browns got a 69-yard burst. The Raiders, though, had a long run of just 10 yards, and 2022 NFL rushing leader Josh Jacobs was limited to 39 yards on 12 attempts through three quarters while the Steelers were building a 16-point lead.

Pro Football Focus tabulated just three missed tackles by the Steelers compared to 12 against Cleveland and 10 against San Francisco.

“I thought we were out of place less,” Tomlin said. “Sometimes ‘out of place less’ means no open gaps, which was the case, or less open gaps. Sometimes being out of place also means not being in position to tackle and thus creating more broken tackles.

“If a guy gets to where he needs to be late or is not in the proper body position, for whatever reason, those raise the potential for missed tackles. I just think we’re moving with greater fluidity to our areas of responsibility, and we’re getting there with more frequency.”