Behind the Steel Curtain
Welcome back to the “One random Steelers play” series. For the full details, feel free to check out this article. But for the TL;DR: We’re using a random number generator to pick a Steelers play from the 2025 season to analyze.
This week, the random number generator chose Week 12 of the season, the Steelers’ 31-28 loss to the Chicago Bears, and play No. 35.
Let’s take a look:
The context: The Bears have the ball on their own 10-yard line. There are 15 minutes left in the second quarter and the game is tied 7-7. It’s first and 20 after a holding penalty on the prior play.
Here’s the play:
As always, we’ll start by pausing pre-snap:
The Steelers are in their base 3-4 here, countering the Bears’ 12 personnel (two tight ends). Pittsburgh is also showing a single-high coverage shell, with Jalen Ramsey back deep in center field and the other safety, Kyle Dugger, playing close to the line of scrimmage.
Backed up in their own territory on first and a mile, the Bears try to get a quick-hitter for some easy yardage, with play-action and some stick routes to get out of the shadow of the end zone.
But the Steelers have a trick up their sleeve.
Inside linebacker Malik Harrison shows blitz over the right guard, with the Steelers presenting six potential rushers. But come the snap, both TJ Watt and Nick Herbig drop into the flats while Harrison bursts through the A-gap.
What you see is the power of a simulated pressure — where the defense rushes only four but shows a blitz, making the offense unsure of who’s rushing and who’s dropping into coverage. While Watt doesn’t rush, the right side of the line is still drawn his way, letting Harrison get immediate penetration.
Caleb Williams’ elusiveness and running back D’Andre Swift’s block prevent Harrison from getting the sack, but the rush still messes up the timing of the play. Suddenly, Williams is scrambling on a play that was clearly meant to be a quick throw. If he was on time, he probably could’ve hit Colston Loveland (tight end No. 84) or Rome Odunze (wide receiver No. 15) for a short gain.
But even after avoiding Harrison, Williams’ internal clock is sped up. The Steelers’ Keeanu Benton and Derrick Harmon also do a good job of containing the quarterback, forcing a throwaway as they converge on Williams.
It’s also worth pointing out the Steelers use a coverage rotation here. After showing a single-high look before the snap, Dugger drops back into coverage into what might be some sort of cover 4/quarters call — the corners bail, but not that much as it’s such a shallow passing play. But you can see Joey Porter Jr., on the top of the screen, start to carry Odunze deep on the scramble drill.
Ultimately, this isn’t the most insane or complicated play we’ve covered in this series. But it did have an impact. The result was a simple...
