Football is a game of playmakers. On defense, those players don’t just tackle ball carriers or bat down passes—they make life difficult before the ball is even snapped. The Pittsburgh Steelers have thrived on this concept for years.
Just ask anyone who’s had to line up against T.J. Watt or Alex Highsmith. The intimidation they bring changes game plans. But this season, injuries in the secondary—most notably DeShon Elliott’s MCL issue—have left Pittsburgh without a reliable spark on the back end.
Enter Jabrill Peppers.
The Steelers signed the former Michigan Wolverine, looking for help, and in Week 3 against the New England Patriots, they found more than that.