If anyone’s still wondering just how good the Steelers’ defense can be in 2024, the answer can be found in video of the team’s 18-10 win over the Falcons in Atlanta on Sunday. And you really should watch the entire video, because it’s possible to find special moments throughout an afternoon when the Steelers were behind or ahead by less than a touchdown for all but 28 seconds of a 60-minute game.

The thing about any discussion of the Steelers’ great defense is that there’s more than one right answer. There’s an easy argument to be made for the 1976 version, because that unit finished first in the NFL in both yards allowed and points allowed; it finished with 46 takeaways and was credited with 41 unofficial sacks; and during a 10-game winning streak that lifted the Steelers from a 1-4 start to a berth in the AFC Championship Game, the defense allowed 42 points while recording five shutouts.

But you can’t defend like that anymore. The NFL decided to dismantle that defense by making it illegal to touch receivers more than 5 yards past the line of scrimmage before throwing the ball (the Mel Blount Rule), and by liberalizing the way offensive linemen could use their hands (because the Steel Curtain had 99.5 sacks in the previous three 14-game seasons).

The next generation could well point to the Steelers’ 2008 defense, a unit that was dynamic in terms of sacks (51) and takeaways (29), and this group waged a war of attrition against offenses that were violent and relentless, but legal under the rules of the time. And the icing on the cake came at a critical moment in the biggest game of the year when Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison authored a pick-six that combined athleticism and relentless effort to create a piece of NFL history. What’s more, the way they finished the Ravens in the AFC Championship Game was the spark that ignited the player safety initiative.

These Steelers don’t deserve to be part of a debate where 1976 and 2008 are two of the correct answers, but first let’s see how this group does over the next 16 games played over 17 weeks. Then the issue can be revisited.

In Atlanta, however, there wasn’t much not to like.

In the context of individual stats, QB Kirk Cousins ​​​​completed 16 of 26 for 155 yards (5.9 average per attempt, which is minimum by NFL standards), with 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions (3 total giveaways) and a 59.0 rating (also minimum). The Falcons’ longest play was a 20-yard completion to Ray-Ray McCloud.

Sunday’s defense finished with 2 sacks, 7 hits on the quarterback, and 3 takeaways. The Falcons managed just 1 touchdown and were left with nothing in the second half when their 6 possessions ended: fumble, punt, punt, punt, interception, sack to end the game. That, combined with a historic performance by The Chris Boswell and His Magic Leg Show, was the motivating force behind the lone Kickoff Weekend victory posted by an AFC North Division that’s supposed to be the toughest in the league.

“I appreciate that, but to be honest, we have high standards and expectations for this group,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “We have some first-team All-Pros on that unit. I expect them to play like that, and they did. Great players step up at great times. I can’t say enough about No. 90 and company.”

Of course, #90 is TJ Watt, who performed better in terms of impact on the outcome of the game than either Myles Garrett or Micah Parsons, two players favored by recent award voters who apparently don’t appreciate Watt’s tireless drive and cunning. Watt finished with 4 tackles, 1 sack, 3 hits on the quarterback, 2 tackles for loss, and 1 fumble recovery, but that’s a superficial version of the story.

Late in the first half, his strip sack on first-and-10 from the Steelers 17-yard line was overturned when an official ruled that Watt had jumped the snap count and was offsides (disproven by subsequent video, but not replayed). On the next play, the Falcons scored their only touchdown on an 8-yard Cousins ​​pass to TE Kyle Pitts. Then, with 6 minutes and change left in the third quarter, another strip sack recovered by Atlanta that would have set up a fourth-and-21 at the Falcons 18-yard line was overturned by an illegal use-of-hands call on Donte Jackson (who more than atoned for the sin with an interception and a 49-yard return that set up a first-and-10 at the Falcons 18-yard line with 2:47 left in the fourth quarter).

Add it all up and it’s game-destructible stuff. The Falcons lost this game in no small part because they never found a way to deal with TJ Watt. The leader, certainly, but Watt wasn’t the whole show.

There was the aforementioned Jackson interception – who certainly looked like a nice addition to the defense when partnered with Joey Porter Jr. as the returnee in the trade for WR Diontae Johnson. DeShon Elliott, another newcomer, made a diving interception in the middle of the field, and he looked like he could be a nice complement to Minkah Fitzpatrick. The Falcons averaged 4.0 yards per rush, which is a less-than-ideal number when viewed in isolation, but they only managed 89 total yards and at no point did it look like the Falcons had enough to win simply by running the ball.

Maybe not spectacular, but the defensive line was consistent and productive. Cam Heyward had 4 tackles and Montravius ​​Adams added 3 tackles and 1 sack. Larry Ogunjobi had 2 hits on the quarterback and CBS showed how one of those hits encouraged Cousins ​​to throw the throw that became Jackson’s interception late in the fourth quarter.

But there were some problems. Too often the passing game consisted of going deep to George Pickens or it wasn’t worth the effort. The Steelers were 0-for-2 in the red zone, and 0-for-1 on goal-to-go situations.

“If you can’t get fourth-and-1, sometimes you don’t deserve to win. That’s just a philosophical approach that we live by,” Tomlin said.

“We had some botched center-quarterback exchanges on offense,” he added. “We shot ourselves in the foot. When you’re shooting field goals in a hostile environment against a good group, you know you’re in jeopardy. I’m just really thankful that we were able to pull it off. We’ve still got things to work on, but it’s really good to work on your ailments with the ‘W.’ And so that’s what we’re going to do.”

A good start, that’s for sure. But only a start.