Tim Benz: How the Steelers should address the dirty little secret about their defense

The word “luck” wasn’t often used in connection to the 2019 Pittsburgh Steelers.

Especially relating to injuries.

• The team lost the top two quarterbacks on the depth chart.

• The starting running back sat out six games and parts of four others.

• The starting tight end missed two games and big chunks of two more.

• The perceived top wide receiver was sidelined for four games. The newly acquired free-agent receiver tried to play through a busted finger then got infected with a case of the “drop-rona virus.”

• The starting left guard had his lowest snap count since 2012. The starting center was suspended for two games because he intervened when an opponent committed assault on the field, and he missed much of the last two games because of injury.

Aside from that, the Steelers offense was just chock full of good fortune last season.

So while the offense dragged itself to mediocre on its best days, the unit on the other side of the ball thrived.

It drew wide praise from a fanbase and media contingent excited to watch a ball-hawking, sack-producing, big-play-making defense in Pittsburgh once more.

That unit finished first in sacks and takeaways, third in pass completions and yards allowed and fifth in preventing points and total yards.

A dirty little secret about the Steelers defense, though, is that for as unfortunate as the offense was when it came to injuries, the defense was every bit as lucky.

Remarkably lucky.

The top 13 tacklers on the Steelers defense combined to miss all of four games. Cornerback Steven Nelson and inside linebacker Mark Barron each missed one, and fellow inside linebacker Vince Williams missed two.

Every other regular starter was a perfect 16 for 16. Even some core backups and defensive special teamers such as Tyler Matakevich, Jordan Dangerfield, Cameron Sutton and Ola Adeniyi played in all 16 games.

The two notable exceptions to the overwhelmingly good health of the Steelers defense were defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt and safety Sean Davis.

Tuitt tore a pectoral muscle in Week 6 against the Los Angeles Chargers. And Davis was placed on injured reserve with a damaged shoulder after one game.

It’s tough to count Davis in this analysis. Because the Steelers went out and upgraded at free safety with the Minkah Fitzpatrick trade for the final 14 games.

As far as Tuitt goes, yes, his loss hurt. He’s a very good player. Fortunately for coordinator Keith Butler, that’s one area where the Steelers have depth to handle a significant loss.

Nose tackle Javone Hargrave simply stayed on the field more often in nickel situations and performed well. And when the Steelers went to a traditional 3-4 alignment, they had a veteran backup in Tyson Alualu to soak up many of Tuitt’s duties as Hargrave handled the nose tackle spot.

So, essentially, the Steelers lost only one major defensive contributor during the entire season.

For as good as Tuitt is, I’ll take his absence for 10 games as opposed to the constant state of flux the offense was in with players getting knocked out with injuries every game, all year.

None of this is being written to couch the defense’s success. Quite the contrary. It’s showing proof of how good that group can be when completely healthy.

My only question is, how often can you count on an entire defense being completely healthy that long?

That’s especially worthy of asking considering that Alualu, Williams, Barron, Cam Heyward and Joe Haden are all at least 30 years old.

This offseason, the Steelers should try to bolster this defense with depth and start planning for the future.

They should.

Unfortunately, given limited draft choices and restricted salary-cap space, I don’t know how much they can. What few resources they have in terms of picks and cash will likely be thrown at helping the offense.

When good young players such as T.J. Watt and Fitzpatrick need new contracts, they are going to break the bank.

Bud Dupree is already there. He may get an expensive franchise tag or a whopper of a long-term contract. Hargrave is likely leaving in free agency. Barron and reserve outside linebacker Anthony Chickillo may be cap casualties. Heyward and Alualu have contracts that expire after this season.

Why bring this up now? Because as the NFL shopping season goes into effect, remember the Steelers are entering it with a pocket full of change and — so far — just one pick in the first 96 selections.

So while Steelers fans have visions of Hunter Henry dancing in their heads and second- and third-round draft choices being spent on new skill position toys for Ben Roethlisberger to play with, don’t be stunned if they add a little to the defense even though you might not think it needs the help.

Because it will.

Luck won’t be on its side as much as it was in 2019. It can’t possibly be.

And the salary cap won’t be helping either.