Swarming Shazier, Defense Deserve Credit Over Outstanding O in Steelers Win

It’s been a few years since the defense was the talk of the town in Pittsburgh, and for good reason.

The gradual improvement of the offensive line, the maturation of Ben Roethlisberger into a bona-fide elite quarterback, and the ascension of inarguably the most explosive skill group in the NFL has meant the defense has simply needed to be “good enough.”

Keith Butler’s unit was far from perfect Sunday at home against the San Francisco 49ers, but the Steelers’ ball hawking style in a 43-18 rout has given fans hope that their raw, talented defense can shine through a be a genuine contributor in winning games in 2015.

Colin Kaepernick had a deceptively excellent day despite the score, completing 33 of 46 for 335 yards and 2 touchdowns, while tucking the ball 8 times and rushing for 51 yards.

But the Steelers seemed magnetised to the ball on almost every play, and that was none more apparent than through future star Ryan Shazier.

It was only yesterday that we declared that the sophomore linebacker would need to carry the load for Pittsburgh to win. Well, Shazier didn’t just help out, he balled out.

His game MVP performance included a monstrous 15 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and one very exciting afternoon for fans who were perhaps a little sceptical of the Ohio State alumnus following an ineffective rookie season riddled with injury.

Shazier did leave the game early with an apparent shoulder issue, though the man himself assured reporters it was not serious.

But by the time his shift was over, so was the game, or, at least, the contest. Shazier likely knew he was only player capable of containing Kap in the open field, and his relentless pursuit of the dual threat athlete stifled drives and helped the Steelers carry an insurmountable lead into half time.

The intensity seemed to lighten in the second half, with the Steelers giving up some enormous pass plays the way only their porous secondary can, but the good continued to outweigh the bad as they muscled up on the goal line and never allowed the Niners back into the game.

If a defensive performance can overshadow a quarterback throwing for 3 touchdowns, a running back rushing for a hat trick, and a wide receiver racking up nearly 200 yards, it was probably a pretty good day.