Steelers’ Robert Spillane absorbs blow of replacing Devin Bush

Robert Spillane had plenty of figurative weight on his shoulders Sunday in serving as the primary replacement for Devin Bush.

They never buckled in that sense, even if one of his shoulders took a literal pounding.

Spillane did an admirable job in his first game as a Pittsburgh Steelers starting inside linebacker in the wake of the season-ending torn ACL that Bush suffered last week. Spillane didn’t play every snap, and he suffered a shoulder injury making a bruising goal-line tackle of Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry. But Spillane, and the others who filled Bush’s void, did an admirable job in the Steelers’ 27-24 win at the previously undefeated Titans.

“We knew it was going to take the whole team to provide depth for Devin,” said Spillane, who had played nine career regular-season snaps on defense before subbing in for Bush during last week’s win against the Cleveland Browns. “Devin’s a great player, a great person, and we miss him. He wasn’t with us this week and so we miss him. And we knew it was going to be 11 on defense, special teams and offense, to make up for his absence.”

Robert Spillane knows he can’t replicate Devin Bush on the football field. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t going to try his hardest. Via @tribjoerutterhttps://t.co/xoAni7VcfE

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) October 20, 2020

Spillane started at inside linebacker alongside Vince Williams. Spillane played mostly first- and second-down snaps but was replaced in obvious passing situations by Ulysees Gilbert.

“We weren’t concerned about the quality of his play,” coach Mike Tomlin said of Spillane, a 2018 undrafted free agent who has been cut four times and played almost exclusively on special teams. “I definitely was not. (But) I was concerned about fatigue as snaps set in. So we supplemented him on possession downs with Ulysees Gilbert, who also did a really solid job, and together they were able to stand in for Devin.

“And not that we didn’t have complete confidence in Robert, but we didn’t want him playing 65 or so snaps. We thought he would have a better chance to play a winning performance if we kept it around 45 or so.”

Spillane was on pace for roughly that amount until a highlight-reel tackle in which he stuffed the 247-pound Henry in a collision at the end of a full sprint at Steelers’ 1-yard line early in the fourth quarter. Henry’s point of contact was Spillane’s left shoulder, and he retreated to the sidelines favoring it.

#Steelers Robert Spillane. Heck of play stopping Derrick Henry at the goal line. Not bad for a guy filling in for Devin Bush. #NFL pic.twitter.com/Tbk57KvZmk

— SportSource Analytics (@SportSourceA) October 25, 2020

“Yeah, they’re on the 1-yard line, they’ve got a 250-pound running back. There’s no going slow into the hole,” Spillane said. “So I took all my force with me, and T.J. (Watt) was there to help as well and we were able to bring him down.”

Neither Spillane nor Tomlin gave an update on Spillane’s shoulder after the game.

Gilbert appeared to play as the only linebacker when the Steelers went into a dime package, with Cameron Sutton serving his usual role as the hybrid linebacker, Steven Nelson moving into the slot and Justin Layne entering to play as an outside corner.

Spillane also wore the “green dot” as the designated communicator with the defense, relaying plays given to him via radio communication into his helmet from the sideline.

“Obviously it’s very tough to fill in that middle linebacker position, especially when you have a player as talented as Devin is,” Watt said. “We truly believe in the next-man-up mentality, and I feel like Rob Spillane did a great job.”

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