Arrow pointing up: After some struggles at the outset of the season, the Steelers' defense has begun to find its collective stride.
"We're getting there," defensive coordinator Teryl Austin assessed today.
Just as Austin suspected the defense would all along.
"I've said it, I know we hadn't played well early but I know we have enough good players and that things will start trending in the right direction," Austin continued. "I think we took a step forward (last Sunday), absolutely. But we also know we left a lot out there and there's a lot of room to improve.
"I really love the way our guys competed and performed last week and we know we can be better."
The Steelers amassed six sacks, 14 quarterback hits, two interceptions and eight passes defensed in last Sunday's 24-21 win over the Vikings in Dublin.
Moving forward, "better" would include eliminating occasional breakdowns in coverage, specifically the one that resulted in an 81-yard, catch-and-run chunk play to the Steelers' 1-yard line from Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz to uncovered wide receiver Jordan Addison that helped Minnesota eventually close to within three points with 2:08 left in regulation.
"I'm gonna take that one," Austin insisted. "We were struggling with who was in the game and I probably made a call that probably wasn't simple enough for everybody, so that's on me. If that ever happens again, if we have some attrition the way we did, the way it happened, I gotta give our guys something that's way more simple and that they can line up and play. It may not be the best defense but it'll be something where we won't have a chance to blow it.
"Our guys played great and again, that last one is on me and I'll make sure that doesn't happen again."
The Steelers had lost cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey and Brandin Echols to injury by that juncture.
Echols returned for the final defensive series, which began at the Minnesota 20 with 1:02 left in the fourth quarter and ended when the Vikings threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-17 from the Minnesota 32 with 14 seconds to play.
The Wentz-to-Addison dagger may have been much more damaging had inside linebacker Payton Wilson not sprinted down the field and tackled Addison in bounds at the Steelers' 1.
The Vikings ended up requiring an additional four plays to score in the wake of Wilson's relentless hustle.
"It was unbelievable," Austin said. "It's probably the difference in the game. You make them run three plays. You make them burn time off the clock. And then if they do, and they did, get an opportunity to go back down, now you're talking about a minute less time to try to get into field goal range.
"So it was a huge play. It's why we talk to our guys all the time, that's why we run to the ball. We talk about it in practice all the time, to finish and do those things and he did it and it was a great individual effort. His individual effort helped our team win the game."
Outside linebacker Nick Herbig also made his individual presence felt again in his second consecutive start in place of Alex Highsmith (ankle).
Herbig's pressure induced an intentional grounding penalty against Wentz on first-and-10 from the Minnesota 39 with 43 seconds left.
Herbig finished with 1.5 sacks, a tackle for a loss and three quarterback hits against Minnesota after producing a sack, a tackle for a loss and four quarterback hits in the Steelers' 21-14 win on Sept. 21 at New England.
His emergence has the Steelers re-evaluating the division of labor at outside linebacker once Highsmith returns from injury.
"We are not gonna limit Nick Herbig," Austin announced. "He is showing up every week. He is disruptive. He's a really good player for us and we're gonna continue to find ways to get him on the field."
