The plan for the Pittsburgh Steelers this season is to ride a dominant run game and smothering defense to wins as they look to return to the playoffs. However, one aspect of this, the dominant defense, is something that has eluded Pittsburgh for almost five years now. The Steelers haven’t held teams under 20 points per game since the 2019 season, but this year they will.
Since the 2019 season when Pittsburgh acquired safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in a trade with the Miami Dolphins, its defense has been the strength of the team. While I do not think the 2023 Steelers defense will be as dominant as 2019 defense was, I do think they can hold teams to under 20 points per game if they stay healthy.