Sacks, takeaways, splash — Steelers coming up with big plays from all over the defense

A look at the NFL’s team statistical leaders Monday morning might have felt as familiar as it was heartening for fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The team that had made its very identity on defense — “Blitzburgh” — once again found itself atop the league in sacks.

A second consecutive game of terrorizing an opposing quarterback has brought an intimidation factor back to the Steelers.

The Steelers sacked Minnesota’s Carson Wentz six times, and the NFL credited them with hitting him a whopping 14 occasions during the Steelers’ 24-21 victory against the Vikings in Dublin on Sunday.

“Whether you got the sack, whether you got the pressure, there was always someone in his face, and he was uncomfortable,” defensive co-captain Cameron Heyward said.

“I think going forward, this is something we can replicate.”

The Steelers’ defense already did over a two-week span. After a middling start to the season when it came to sacks in particular but “splash plays” in general, over the past two games the defense has been a playmaking machine.

During wins against the New England Patriots on Sept. 21 and the Vikings across the pond Sunday, the Steelers have combined for 11 sacks, 22 QB hits and seven takeaways — plus two others that were overturned by video review.

The outburst has moved the Steelers up the league rankings as the schedule hits its quarter pole and the Steelers head into their idle week. Their 14 sacks is tied for the most in the NFL, their 36 pressures of opposing quarterbacks (as measured by pro-football-reference.com) is tied for third, their 10 takeaways the second-most.

And most of that “splash play” production has come over these past two games, each a Steelers victory.

“It’s just trying to find any way to get to the quarterback, trying to impact the game as much as possible,” said the defense’s other co-captain, outside linebacker T.J. Watt. “I thought (Nick) Herbig had a helluva game on the other side. I thought Keeanu (Benton) had a helluva game inside, obviously Cam pushing the pocket inside. It really doesn’t matter who eats.

“We’re going to see a lot of max protection. The guys in the back end did a helluva job covering. I thought even (inside linebackers Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson) and (safety DeShon Elliott), when they blitzing, were huge. We were just playing fast football. We knew what we were doing (against the Vikings), and we were flying around.”

Over these past two games, the Steelers have gotten big plays from all over the roster:

• Elliott — an interception, forced fumble, sack, 2 QB hits (in one game)

• Watt — interception, forced fumble, fumble recovery, 3 sacks, 4 QB hits

• Inside linebacker Cole Holcomb — forced fumble

• Wilson — fumble recovery, QB hit

• Queen — 1 sack, 3 tackles for loss

• Herbig — 2 1/2 sacks, 7 QB hits, 1 forced fumble

• Defensive tackle Benton — 1 1/2 sacks, 3 QB hits

• Heyward — sack, forced fumble and a tipped pass that resulted in an interception

• Cornerback Brandin Echols — interception

• Defensive tackle Derrick Harmon — sack

Additionally, safety Chuck Clark had an interception and a forced fumble that led to takeaway, respectively, the past two games — but each was overturned by video review. Cornerback Jalen Ramsey had a “scoop and score” touchdown negated by one of them.

Speaking after the Vikings game about his defense’s impact on the result, in particular, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin noted that Minnesota’s offensive philosophy can allow for some big plays against it.

“I thought that (the coaching staff) put together a good plan, and I thought (the players) did a nice job of executing it,” he said.

“I think the adjustments we made relative to the max protections was a major component of why we were able to put pressure on them. Kudos to (defensive coordinator Teryl Austin) and company, but also kudos to the men. We had a bunch of guys that played hard and made a bunch of plays today, and we needed them.”

The Steelers set an NFL record by leading the league in sacks for five consecutive seasons, 2017-21. But during the three seasons since, they finished tied for 14th, tied for 11th and tied for 16th, respectively, in sacks.

The 2.4 sacks per game the Steelers averaged last season was their fewest in a decade. The 5.5 per-game pace of the past two weeks is likely unsustainable. But make no mistake — The sacks and turnovers and other “splash” that the Steelers have exhibited in recent weeks is most certainly part of the identity of the 2025 defense.

Watt was asked Sunday by a reporter in Dublin which he enjoyed more, a sack or an interception. That it was even a question shows just how adept over the past two games that Watt in particular and the Steelers defense in general has been at generating each.

“Sacking the quarterback probably (is more fun),” Watt said. “But turning the ball over is huge. Being able to make an impact play like that for the team and put seven points on the board after that was huge.”