Stephon Tuitt was one of the Steelers starters who sat out Sunday’s 27-24 overtime win over the Browns.
Unlike most of the Steelers’ resting starters, Tuitt is still in the process of recovering from an injury. He says that he’ll be ready for Sunday’s wild-card game against the Dolphins at Heinz Field, and that’s good news for the Steelers.
Stephon Tuitt said he's playing Sunday. Said he feels great and said he's still "salty" about the first Miami game.
— Ray Fittipaldo (@rayfitt1) January 2, 2017
The Steelers lost that first Miami game 30-15 at Miami in Week 6. Jay Ajayi ran for 204 yards and two touchdowns in that game, the most rushing yards the Steelers had allowed in a game since the Jaguars’ Fred Taylor ran for 234 against them in 2000.
With Ajayi and the Dolphins looming, Sunday wasn’t a great time for the Steelers (11-5) to allow Isaiah Crowell to gouge them for 152 yards, including a 67-yard carry that was the longest allowed by the Steelers this season. The Steelers allowed 231 rushing yards at a rate of seven yards a carry.
After Ezekiel Elliott ran for 114 yards against them in Week 10, the Steelers allowed less than 100 rushing yards in five straight games. Tuitt went down with a knee injury in Week 15, and in the last two games the Steelers run defense has been slipping. Pittsburgh allowed the Ravens to run for 122 yards in Week 16.
If Tuitt is back next Sunday, it wouldn’t come a moment too soon. Rookie defensive tackle Javon Hargrave went into the concussion protocol Sunday and defensive end Ricardo Mathews re-injured his ankle.
Tuitt not only can shore up the Steelers’ run defense, he also can blow up plays. He has four sacks, three pass breakups and two forced fumbles this season.
While the Steelers’ defensive line is depleted, Ajayi also has some health concerns. He needed an X-ray Sunday but told reporters that he’s “good.”
Tuitt and the Steelers need to prepare for Ajayi better than they did in Week 6, or they’ll really have something to be salty about.
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