Steelers Week 13 Defensive Plays of the Game Show Excellent Individual and Team Effort

There were a bevy of great defensive plays in Pittsburgh's 35-7 Week 13 win over Cincinnati. A few stood out a bit more than the others, with a few showing great execution from multiple players and some just showing good old fashioned disciplined football.

Here are the Steelers' top five defensive plays from Week 13.



5. Polamalu and Farrior High And Low Coverage of Gresham


The Situation:

It's 3rd and goal from Pittsburgh's 10 yard line, 10:09 remaining in the 1st quarter of a scoreless ball game.

The Play:




Cincinnati is on the doorstep. A false start by WR A.J. Green nullified a touchdown pass from Andy Dalton to Jermaine Gresham on a previous play. The Bengals line up with five WRs, and the Steelers counter with a man coverage scheme with Polamalu looking to play the ball over the top.

Gresham is in the left slot, Farrior is four yards off him. Polamalu is cheating to that side, expecting the Bengals drew up a play to their stud red zone receiver.

He was right. At the snap, Gresham releases, and Dalton never takes his eyes off him. He cuts to the outside briefly, then back inside, looking for a pass over the top. Farrior and Polamalu play like the veterans they are. While Gresham easily has five inches on either of them Farrior cuts off a shallow pass, while Polamalu is in perfect position to handle a catchable pass up high.

Dalton's pass is high, but Polamalu's position (right on his legs) on Gresham does not allow him to jump very high. Even if by some miracle he comes down with the ball, Polamalu would be there to knock it away as he came down to the ground. It would have been a shame to see Gresham victimized by the Calvin Johnson Rule twice this season, so Polamalu just didn't give him a chance to catch it at all.

It forced a field goal opportunity (the kick was blocked), saving the Steelers from falling behind early.

4. Taylor's Perfect Position on Green


The Situation:

It's 1st and 10 from Pittsburgh's 27 yard line, 5:37 left in the second quarter. The Steelers have jumped out to a dominating 21-0 lead.

The Play:






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