Coming into the 2016 NFL season, the Pittsburgh Steelers knew their defense would need help in order to be a Super Bowl contender. The thought was Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and Le’Veon Bell would put up enough points to give a cushion to a defense which finished 21st in total defense and 30th in pass defense in 2015.
The offense has certainly done its job through the first five weeks of the season averaging almost 28 points-per-game, and while the defense has surprised some thus far by only giving up 18 points per contest, there is someone other than Roethlisberger to thank for their success, and it may surprise you: Jordan Berry.
Jordan Berry Makes Life Easier for Steelers Defense
The second-year-pro from Australia is averaging nearly 50-yards-per-punt at 47.6. He has already pinned the opponents offense inside the 20-yard-line 10 time. This includes five times against the Cincinnati Bengals in the week two victory at Heinz Field. This number is well on-pace to surpass the amount of times he pinned opponents inside the 20 in 2015, 28.
Importance of Field Position
What Berry was able to do in the first Bengals matchup of 2016 is a perfect example of how valuable he has been, and can continue to be to Keith Butler‘s defense. Not only did Berry give Andy Dalton and the Bengals a starting spot inside the 20 five times, but two of those five times he pinned Cincinnati inside the five.
Even Tom Brady would have difficulty driving his offense 90+ yards to find the end zone on a consistent basis throughout a game. Of ten teams who start drives inside their own 20 most often, only one is in the top ten offensively: the Carolina Panthers. It’s not coincidence that teams who regularly have the longest field to drive are not amongst the league leaders in offense.
As the Bengals showed in Week 2, when deep inside your own territory, the offense becomes more conservative. This allows a soft-zone defense like the Steelers to be more successful. This Steelers defense isn’t predicated on being a vaunted group like years past. Rather, they are a mere speed bump to not give up the big play. The defense is set to allow the offense to feel confident about the chances of winning after scoring 28 points.
Steelers Defense
Currently, the Steelers defense is ninth in the NFL in points allowed. However, they are again 30th in pass defense. Through the first five weeks they are giving up 302 passing yards-per-game. Those numbers don’t add up unless the defense is forcing turnovers (it only has six); or the opponent is constantly working with a long field while trailing on the scoreboard.
Tough between the 20s. That’s what this Steelers defense is, and for a defense that’s been depleted by injury through the first quarter of the season and consistently plays three rookies, that’s all it needs to be in order to be effective. Ryan Shazier is tremendous when he is on the field, Ross Cockrell continues to improve on the outside in the secondary, and the offense is doing its job by scoring close to 30 points-per-game, but Jordan Berry may be the player helping out this Steelers defense most.
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