Five words into his statement on Jacoby Brissett and this 2019 Colts offense, Keith Butler made the crucial point:
"He don't make dumb mistakes," Butler was saying at the Rooney Complex ahead of the Steelers' Week 9 showdown against the 5-2, AFC-South-leading Colts at Heinz Field.
There was more — "He's done a good job of not taking too many chances, maybe tucking the ball and running some every now and then, but he's not running." — but that didn't really matter.
"He don't make dumb mistakes" is what matters here.
Because it's true.
The Colts have turned the ball over just seven times in as many games, tied for the fourth-best mark in the league. Within those seven giveaways, Brissett has thrown just three interceptions. Only Russell Wilson (one), Patrick Mahomes (one), Gardner Minshew (two, and yeah, seriously) and Aaron Rodgers (two) are better in that category.
The second layer in this discussion is this: The Steelers players don't give a damn about that. At all. Sure, sure — they're trying to generate turnovers:
"We talk about it all the time in terms of ball-searching and stuff like that," Butler said. "That's one thing we try to emphasize as coaches. But the players do it, they try to punch the ball out and stuff like that. And when they do punch the ball out, then we get a chance to score. I think they understand the significance of getting turnovers and how much it gives your offense the chance to score."
But overall? This is about them, not Brissett. The Colts have protected the ball well, but this 2019 Steelers defense has repeatedly cracked the opposition's code, generating 19 turnovers — second in the league — thus far.
Steven Nelson framed it this way when I hopped over to his locker to ask how the Steelers defense would work to force the Colts into an uncharacteristic mistake or two:
"Man, we're not really looking into all that too much," Nelson said. "We're just trying to go out there and do what we do, just play as hard as we can."
That sounds too obvious though, doesn't it? It's one thing to say you need to "play as hard as we can" but it's another thing to translate that mentality into actual turnovers on the field ... which this Steelers team has done.
So when and how do those two components — the thought and the result — merge?
"Practicing hard. Paying attention to detail," Nelson fired back. "It's just things like that ... I don't know, bro. It happens when it happens."
As we chatted, Terrell Edmunds strolled past en route to his locker for a change of clothes. He overheard the conversation and, clearly feeling the topic, interjected with this:
"Do what we do," Edmunds said. "We just do what we do. We just gotta continue to play, and we know they're [the turnovers are] gonna come when they come. So we just gotta make sure we make the plays when they come."
But again, this is an efficient and dynamic version of Brissett we're talking about here. It's not Ryan Fitzpatrick heaving and praying for the best.
Brissett just did this last week against perennial All-Pro Von Miller:
Holy smokes. Jacoby Brissett got away from Von Miller and found TY Hilton for a 38-yard gain.pic.twitter.com/RV6KqhXRWS
(via @NFL)
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) October 27, 2019
Nelson and Edmunds weren't disagreeing that Brissett was dangerous.
But they were refusing to admit it was something they hadn't seen.
"Man, we got a bunch of dynamic quarterbacks we play each week," Edmunds interjected. "We just play our game, it'll all end in our favor."
"They're all dynamic," Nelson, nodding his head as Edmunds spoke, added.
This confidence is well-founded, too. In three tries against elite quarterbacks this season, this Steelers defense has left its mark. They couldn't force Tom Brady into any errors in their blowout season-opening loss to the Patriots, but they forced Wilson into one of his three fumbles on the year. Then they baited Philip Rivers for two interceptions and tallied a forced fumble on him, too, in Week 6.
If you think Jimmy Garoppolo and his 8-0 49ers and Lamar Jackson belong in the conversation, you'd only strengthen the point. Garoppolo threw two picks and added two fumbles in the 49ers' 24-20 win over the Steelers in Week 3, while Jackson tossed three passes to the wrong team and fumbled another one in the Ravens' 26-23 overtime victory.
So yeah, Brissett might be cautious and smart with the football, but this 2019 Steelers defense doesn't mind.
Because in their eyes, that all changes Sunday at Heinz Field.
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