Brett Keisel says Pittsburgh Steelers still have ‘tough defense’
By Cory Buck
The Pittsburgh Steelers rebounded from a shocking home loss to the lowly Tampa Bay Buccaneers by narrowly defeating the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars on the road.
It may not have been the most impressive beatdown we’ve seen of the Jaguars this season, but it got the job done. With their confidence improving after a solid effort, defensive end Brett Keisel believes the Steelers defense still has what it takes to get the team back to the playoffs.
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“We can be a tough, tough defense. It’s something that has to happen every week; not after a loss,” Keisel said per Ralph Paulk of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
The Steelers have sported a middle-of-the-road defense through five games of the season, but they have yet to play an imposing offense in that stretch. Of their first five opponents, none rank higher than 11th in points per game. So while the Steelers haven’t had awful numbers on defense, they also haven’t been tested that badly, which was once again the case in Jacksonville, where the Steelers shut down rookie Blake Bortles in a 17-9 victory.
“The criticism is going to come for what we’ve put on the table,” Keisel said. “You’re not going to get a pat on the back for putting what we have on tape. Until we get it turned around, there will continue to be talk like that.”
In defense of the Steelers, they have shown they can make big stops. Cleveland was actually the 11th ranked offense they played and the Steelers shut the Browns out for nearly a whole half. The same goes for Carolina, who hosted the Steelers in prime time.
Expect to have a better idea of what this defense is about later in the season when the Steelers play better offensive teams like the Colts, Saints, Falcons, and in two late-season meetings with the Bengals.
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