Last year, the Steelers defense forced an obscene 38 turnovers. They took the ball away more frequently than any team in the NFL.
To do it in back-to-back seasons would be remarkable. There's got to be some regression to the mean.
In 2018, the Chicago Bears took the ball away a whopping 2.2 times per game. Last year, that number dropped to 1.2 times per game.
The Steelers forced 2.4 turnovers per game in 2019. They can't do it again, right? Right?
That's what I've said all offseason long. I'm inclined to believe it's unlikely to happen again.
However, Pittsburgh's defense is chalk full of talent. They start eight first round picks on that side of the ball. They've led the league in sacks for three straight seasons. Usually, pressure leads to taking the ball away.
Ben Roethlisberger told ESPN after Monday's game that this could be the best defense he's ever been around. Wow, paging the 2005, 2008, and 2010 Steelers!
I do think the defense will regress SOME in 2020. It's not likely that they'll force 38 takeaways again. But, they got two in the opener and appeared to pick up right where last season left off.
Is it that farfetched to think that they could force 30?
With the pressure they got on the QB and the plethora of talent that the Steelers have at each level of the defense, I think that number is attainable.