NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Jim Schwartz, the sharp defensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans, picked up the local newspaper Sunday morning and saw a story raving about the Pittsburgh Steelers defense, the Titans' opponent Sunday.
Naturally, it hit a nerve.
"I had to wake up this morning and see that Pittsburgh had the best defense in the history of the National Football League," Schwartz said.
Now we know why he was ticked off. The Steelers didn't even have the best defense on the field Sunday.
The Titans defense, playing short-handed without their top two defensive linemen in Albert Haynesworth and Kyle Vanden Bosch because of injuries, stole the show. The Titans dominated the Steelers 31-14, thanks to the defense, to earn the top seed in the AFC playoffs with the Steelers the second seed.
As several Titans proclaimed loudly after the game: "The road to the Super Bowl now goes through Nashville."
The 13-2 Titans put on a defensive show, forcing four turnovers and getting five sacks, to stake its claim as the best defense in the league. Tennessee is giving up 14.1 points per game, while the Steelers are at 14.4.
Isn't that the way to judge who is best?
"That doesn't matter," Titans safety Chris Hope said. "All that matters is that we're the top seed and everyone has to come here. That's what matters. If we don't finish all of this, nobody will give a damn who has the best defense."
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| Rookie tackle Jason Jones has an Albert Haynesworth kind of day in the big win. (Getty Images) |
The Titans didn't turn it over once. Moral of the story: Take care of the ball or else.
That's the Titans formula. Play pressure defense. Cause turnovers. Run the ball. Throw it efficiently.
Titans quarterback Kerry Collins was his usual efficient self, completing 20 of 29 passes for 216 yards and one touchdown for the Titans. Roethlisberger threw for 331 yards, but the four turnovers were the difference in the game, one a fumble at the Tennessee 3.
The amazing thing about the play of the defense is who was on the field for the Titans on their front.
"I defy people across America to come up with names of our defensive linemen," Schwartz said.
Ever heard of Jason Jones?
You will now.
Jones is a rookie from Eastern Michigan who was projected by most to be an end in the NFL. The Titans drafted him in the second round, moved him inside to tackle, and he had one of those special days against the Steelers. Jones had 3½ sacks and three forced fumbles.
"He had an Albert Haynesworth kind of day," Titans defensive tackle Tony Brown said.
Not bad for a 277-pound player, which is light by NFL tackle standards.
"It's all about your heart," Jones said.
His must be huge. Playing for Haynesworth, who is expected back in the playoffs, Jones put on a show. Rookie William Hayes also had a sack helping to fill in for Vanden Bosch, who is out with a groin injury.
"Our D-line knows what we're capable of doing," Jones said. "We knew we had to step it up today."
Jones, Hayes and Brown may as well be called "The Others." That's because the perception is that Haynesworth is so dominant he makes the others better. It is true, but how would you like to hear that all the time?
"I do hear it all the time," Brown said. "That just goes to show you that people don't know what they're talking. It's cool, though."
The Steelers came not allowing a team to gain 300 yards in a game this season. That streak is over, even though it ties an NFL record of 14 consecutive game doing so, which ties the 1973 Los Angeles Rams, as the Titans had 323 yards of offense.
Pittsburgh leads the NFL in total defense, rush defense and pass defense. That's why they were the unit getting all the attention. Without Haynesworth and Vanden Bosch, that was probably understandable.
"We took so many shots it seemed like nobody believed in us," Brown said. "But that is fine because inside this locker room we do believe."
Schwartz might be coaching this group for the next month, and that's it. He's a hot coaching commodity. He's been close before to landing a head coaching job in the past, and he's interviewed well according to league personnel, so it's likely this will be his time.
He is a cerebral coach who can recite stats and break down numbers as well as any coach in the league. But he can also get passionate about the game. He'll jump his players and he'll defend them as strongly as any coach in football.
Mike Smith is having great success in his first year as coach of the Atlanta Falcons, coming to them as a cerebral defensive coordinator much like Schwartz. It would be wise for a team out there to get Schwartz on speed dial.
His defense, coupled with a quality running game and a quarterback who takes care of the football, has the Titans two home victories away from a Super Bowl.
"It's no piece of cake to come into their backyard and win," Steelers receiver Hines Ward said.
When they get Haynesworth and Vanden Bosch back for the playoffs, and add them to that young group that dominated Sunday, it will be even tougher.
Best defense in football? It's hard to argue against the Titans right now.
