Run defense is team-oriented. It’s an 11-man job.
But to beat the Carolina Panthers Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ bench went about 16-men deep.
Holding the Panthers to less than 30 yards and zero first downs, one week after Carolina put up over 200 on Seattle, is a remarkable achievement. While credit should be evenly spread out, two rookies in DeMarvin Leal and Mark Robinson played key roles in getting the job done.
Leal in particular received recognition from Mike Tomlin and Alex Highsmith in postgame pressers.
“They put unique big people, big people packages on the field.