The Pittsburgh Steelers introduced a new wrinkle to their dime defense coming out of the bye week when they began replacing both inside linebackers in favor of L.J. Fort, the fourth-year veteran who has been with the organization in some capacity since 2015.
The coaching staff always talked about Fort’s coverage ability, but they’ve gotten a better look at it recently, seeing nickel snaps last season after Ryan Shazier’s injury, and in a rotation with Tyler Matakevich when Vince Williams missed a game earlier this year.
These highlights, particularly the latter, were what prompted the dime package adjustment.