The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Detroit Lions by a margin-wide 19-9 points On Sunday. The triumph marked a strong preseason end for the Steelers, who won all three games. The same is inapplicable for the Lions, who demonstrated a sloppy offensive display.
Pittsburgh’s offense was unmatched in the game. The team managed to prevent Detroit from hitting any points in the first and second quarters. In the remaining last quarters, the Lions were able to get back to their footing, but it was too late for any comebacks.
The upcoming season looks great for the Steelers. However, if any aspect that they should amp up, that would be their defense after coming short last season in the wild-card round against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Strong end for Steelers
The Steelers made a 9-7 win-loss record last season, earning the second in the American Football Conference North—just a single winning point behind the leading Cincinnati Bengals. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin will be looking to transfer the team’s 2021 season success this September.
Tomlin and his men were dominating this preseason. The team defeated the Seattle Seahawks 32-35, had a close-to-comfort finish against the Jacksonville Jaguars 16-15 and most recently won over the Lions.
The Steelers kicked off the matchup with three points in the first quarter and added a whopping 13 points in the second quarter. The team won the toss, and star kicker Chris Boswell kicked off the game. Pittsburgh demonstrated a much better defensive play, especially from four-time Pro-Bowler linebacker T. J. Watt and safety Tre Norwood.
Unfortunately, Watt sustained a knee injury after an attempted rush. The team ruled him out for the remainder of the game.
Centering around defense
Regardless, the Steelers have a promising defense in the upcoming season. The franchise came short with that department last season, which Watt deemed as “unacceptable.”
“When you look at the tape and see how many 100-yard rushers we allowed last season, it’s completely unacceptable,” Watt said via NFL.com earlier this month.
“If you want to be successful in this defense, you have to be known for stopping the run. You can’t have teams running the ball in the end zone on you.”
The team’s journey to the Super Bowl ring last season was cut short in the wild-card round by the Chiefs.
“When you come to the Pittsburgh Steelers, you’re known for your defense. That wasn’t the case last year, so going forward it’s put up or shut up,” Watt continued.
“If we’re going to win these games, it’s got to come down to us. But that comes with the standard we are charged with upholding. It’s not pressure. It’s what’s expected.”
Steelers newly-hired senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach Brian Flores had the same take as Watt.
“Its roots and foundation is defense. It’s stopping the run and rushing the passer and keeping the score down. Any outsider can look at that and, if you peel back the layers, that’s who the Steelers are and that’s who we want to be and what we want to be. But there’s a process to doing that,” Flores explained.