In this week’s “3 & Out” column, we break down Pittsburgh’s victory in the Rockies, courtesy of a formula that’s become familiar to Steelers’ fans.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it

There are a lot of coaches in the game today eager to show the world how smart they are and how much football they know. They become bored with repetition, even when doing the same thing over and over is working, and feel compelled to switch things up so they can dazzle their peers or put their own creative wrinkle on a familiar concept.

The problem with that line of thinking is that, quite often, the wrinkle isn’t as good as the standard. Sometimes the standard, even if it’s boring, or not particularly sexy, or not worthy of anyone’s highlight reel or Top 5 list, is just better. And so, because they’re unwilling to stay the course, or they tinker too much with a winning formula, they manage to snatch failure from the jaws of success.

Mike Tomlin is not that coach. Tomlin understands who this Steelers team is. And he could care less what people say about its offense, or the quarterback situation, or the coordinator. Tomlin cares only about winning football games. So far this season, the Steelers have done just that by following a pretty simple formula: protect the football, score when you can and lean on the defense.

They did that in Week 1 in Atlanta, mixing a methodical approach on offense with a suffocating defense to down the Falcons, 18-10. They did it on Sunday in Denver as well. Pittsburgh dominated the first half, took a ten-point lead to the locker room and then bubble-wrapped the offense for the final thirty minutes. It wasn’t as though the Steelers weren’t trying to score in the second half. But, given the way their defense was stifling rookie quarterback Bo Nix and the Denver offense, the second-half message was clear: the offense will not lose this game for us.

How conservative was coordinator Arthur Smith after halftime? In the first half, Pittsburgh ran 16 first-down plays, opting for eight runs and eight passes. In the second half, the Steelers had ten first-down snaps, choosing eight runs against just two passes. Those eight runs gained a total of 18 yards, meaning the Steelers commonly faced second-and-long, which is far from ideal for this offense. Their lack of success on first down was one of the big reasons that, in seven second half possessions, their longest drive lasted five plays. Their best play overall was a pass interference penalty drawn by George Pickens that netted 37 yards and set up a 53-yard field goal by Chris Boswell. Their second best play covered 11 yards, and 20 of their 26 plays gained three yards or less.

And guess what? It was perfectly fine with Tomlin.

Granted, I’m sure Tomlin would have liked the offense to put up more than 13 points. The Steelers have scored 31 points all season. For sake of comparison, nine teams have scored at least that many in one game this year. But in both games so far, the offense has staked the Steelers to a second half lead and then played functional enough not to lose. This means chewing up clock and not turning the ball over. With the lights-out defense this team is playing, that’s been enough.

Is this formula sustainable? Probably not. The offense is going to have to score more to beat the better teams on Pittsburgh’s schedule, starting this week when they open their home slate against the undefeated Chargers. For the first two weeks, though, the formula worked. Protect the football, score when you can, lean on the defense. 2-0 is 2-0, no matter how you get there.

QB1?

Justin Fields is slated to start on Sunday against Los Angeles as Russell Wilson continues to recover from his lingering calf injury. Beyond this week, it’s anyone’s guess. The big question will be whether Fields has done enough by then to convince the Steelers to stay the course with him at quarterback. Or, given the lack of production by the offense in general, and the fact Tomlin insisted all summer that Wilson was “in the pole position,” whether they’ll feel compelled to make a switch.

On the negative side, Fields’s numbers in Denver were again pedestrian: 13-20 passing, 117 yards and a touchdown. He also added 27 yards on eight rushes, mostly by scrambling out of the pocket on designed pass plays. This comes on the heels of the Atlanta game where he passed for 156 yards and rushed for 57. With the offense averaging just 15.5 points and 260 yards per game, a case could be made justifying the switch to Wilson.

However, Fields has run the offense largely mistake-free these first two weeks, and he’s made plays when the opportunity presents itself. He’s been efficient as a passer, completing 30 of 43 throws for an impressive 69.8%. Fields has shown great touch on deep balls, dropping in several beauties to Pickens, including a gorgeous throw down the sideline in Denver for a would-be 51-yard gain that was wiped away on a holding penalty. He also threw a perfectly-placed back-shoulder ball to tight end Darnell Washington for a touchdown, and had another score to Pickens nullified by a questionable offensive pass interference call. The Steelers have won time of possession these first two weeks by over thirteen minutes. Best of all, the offense is yet to turn the football over, helping the team to a +5 ratio. They haven’t needed Fields to be spectacular. They’ve simply needed him to do what he’s done.

Is that enough? We shall see. With Justin Herbert coming to town on Sunday, and a much-improved Chargers defense under new coordinator Jesse Minter, Fields will probably have to produce more to earn the Steelers a win. If he gets it, my suspicion is he’ll remain QB1 whether Wilson is ready to return or not.

About that defense…

Where do we start? How about with the fact the Steelers are giving up an average of just eight points a game? Or that they’ve produced five turnovers? Their four total sacks aren’t spectacular, but their fourteen quarterback hits through two weeks are. The Steelers also held Atlanta and Denver to a combined 4-21 on third downs and 153 rushing yards. What this team is doing on defense so far is downright oppressive.

Not surprisingly, T.J. Watt has been the catalyst. Watt followed a performance in Atlanta where he had a sack, two tackles-for-loss and two strip-sacks wiped away by defensive penalties with one in Denver that was just as impressive. Watt had another sack, two more tackles-for-loss and two quarterback hits against the Broncos. The sample size is small, but no defender in the league has had an impact like Watt’s so far.

Watt has had plenty of help, though. Alex Highsmith has picked up where he left off last year, playing an ideal Robin to Watt’s Batman. Free agent signee DeShon Elliott has made an early impact. Elliott had an interception in Atlanta and led the defense with nine tackles in Denver. He’s been a nice playing partner for Minkah Fitzpatrick so far. Joey Porter Jr. needs to clean up the penalties — he’s not alone in that regard — but has been an absolute clamp on opposing receivers. Cam Heyward still cannot be blocked one-on-one. Cory Trice chipped in with a big end zone interception in Denver, turning back the best Broncos drive of the afternoon. Donte Jackson looks like an upgrade at corner over Levi Wallace. Keeanu Benton is making strides in year two.

Orchestrating it all is Teryl Austin, who seems to have found his footing as Pittsburgh’s coordinator. I haven’t seen the All-22 film of the Denver game yet, but I’m eager to find out what Austin did to confound Nix, whose first half was miserable. Few coordinator’s mix and disguise their coverages as creatively as Austin, and with the pieces Pittsburgh has assembled on defense this season, it could be Austin’s finest unit yet. It may have to be for the Steelers to make a serious playoff run, as they look far from being an offensive juggernaut. If the defense keeps playing to their current level, the offense won’t have to be.

And Out…

I hate ending an article about a win on a low note, but the Steelers nearly sabotaged their effort in Denver by committing ten penalties. One cost them a touchdown. One nullified the beautiful 51-yard connection from Fields to Pickens. And the penalty binge Broderick Jones went on in the 2nd quarter, where he was flagged three times on a single drive, may earn him a permanent seat on the pine. Fortunately, Denver complimented the Steelers by committing nine penalties of their own. The better teams in the league won’t be as accommodating. Pittsburgh has 19 penalties through two games. This will catch up to them if they don’t get it fixed.

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