Steelers' New Addition Receives Unexpected Praise From Mike Tomlin

The Pittsburgh Steelers had a big bounce-back game in Week 9. After dropping back-to-back games where the defense looked like the worst unit in the NFL, the group racked up six turnovers and defeated the Indianapolis Colts, who had sole possession of the best record in the league leading up to the contest. The home win means so much to a Pittsburgh defense that has been so inconsistent in 2025. There are still a lot of things to work on, but getting the victory was huge. 

During his postgame press conference, Head Coach Mike Tomlin raved about his defense that forced six turnovers against Indianapolis. However, he gave the game ball to a man that was quietly dominant in the game, especially on such short notice.

"Can't say enough about Kyle Dugger," Tomlin said. "I just gave him the game ball [in the locker room]. This guy got on the moving train and played a lot of defense for us today, and we needed it. We were really short at the safety position today coupled with [DeShon] Elliott's injury, with some illness and soft tissue injuries. We're running so thin and that dude came in here and gave us some quality work, and we're certainly appreciative of that."

Safety Kyle Dugger was expected to just be a depth piece that would help slow down the run game. However, three different safeties that played in Week 8 were ruled out for Week 9, with two of them officially being downgraded to that status less than 24 hours before kickoff. Even though he was not officially listed as a starter, he still saw the field a lot and made the most of it. 

While everyone around him was making splash plays, Dugger was maintaining his gaps and playing quality coverage in the back end. The common fan likely did not notice, but Tomlin definitely did, and that's why he was the one to receiver the game ball despite only having four tackles in the contest. As a defensive back, you typically don't want to be noticed, and that was the case here with the newest Steeler.

After that performance, it will be hard to keep him off the field. With DeShon Elliott going on Injured Reserve (IR), he will definitely get his chances. Once players start getting healthy, Jalen Ramsey will likely see less time at safety as he did in this contest, and that will open the door for him to get more reps and maybe even become the starter until Elliott returns. 

Steelers' Defense Needs To Be More Like Dugger

Despite racking up six takeaways and five sacks against a juggernaut, the Steelers still only won the game by one possession. Very similar thing happened in Week 3 against the New England Patriots. Through the first half of the season, one thing is very obvious about this defense: they rely on the splash plays way too much, and it is not sustainable at all. 

Despite being new to the team, Dugger was just dominant without being flashy. He never over-pursued, he never got away from his assignment, and he never let anything go over his head. He did his job, and he did it incredibly well. The Colts had the ability to go over the top with some deep passes, and the new safety was part of the reason why that never happened.

The Steelers do have a tendency to play hero-ball and go for the splash play too often. In this instance, it worked great against an offensive line that was shockingly terrible in this contest. However, that style of play does not translate to postseason success. If they can play like Dugger did, they won't need to have three takeaways just to have a good chance of winning a football game.