Pressure is supposed to lead to turnovers. At least that's the thinking in NFL circles, and has been for years.
So how to explain the 2018 Steelers?
They led the NFL in sacks for the second consecutive season, tying the Chiefs for that honor, yet somehow forced just 15 turnovers. Only the Lions (14) and 49ers (7) had fewer in 2018.
That was a seven-turnover decline for the Steelers from 2017, when they went 8-2 in one-score games. In 2018, that record in one-score games fell to 6-5. As much as Chris Boswell struggled last season putting the ball through the uprights on a regular basis, that decrease in turnovers was equally as much to blame for the team's 9-6-1 record.
Just a couple more turnovers in the right game could have changed the team's entire season.
Forcing more turnovers has been the team's main focus throughout the offseason program and will continue to be so as the team heads to training camp next Thursday at Saint Vincent College.
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"Last year, we didn’t do what we wanted to or what we were capable of," Terrell Edmunds said. "We want to come out here and catch more interceptions, have the ball in our hands. When the ball is on the ground, we’ve got to scoop it up. It’s going after the ball. We have to keep on having that mentality that we’ve got to have the ball when it is in the air."
How the Steelers go about doing that is the question. They've drilled. They've stressed it in the classroom. They've made it a point of emphasis with everything they do. But will it work?
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