Mark Madden: Steelers defense will benefit from Ben Roethlisberger's return

Here’s a fun prop bet for Steelers fans: What number will be higher in 2020, Ben Roethlisberger’s touchdown passes or how many takeaways the defense gets?

I’d bet Roethlisberger. Anybody want to book that action?

At 38 and after major surgery on his elbow, Roethlisberger is hardly a guaranteed All-Pro. But Roethlisberger does offer leadership. He will imbue his platoon with confidence. His weapons aren’t nuclear, but they are diverse and plentiful.

Roethlisberger has to excel, because that’s how the NFL is. (He will.)

That defense, meanwhile, is a house of cards.

At a glance, that statement might sound silly.

In 2019, the Steelers defense led the NFL with 54 sacks and 38 takeaways. It allowed 4.7 yards per offensive play, tied for the NFL’s best. It allowed 303 points, fifth-fewest in the league. Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, defensive end Cameron Heyward and outside linebacker T.J. Watt made first-team All-Pro. It was a dominant unit.

But since, the defense lost nose tackle Javon Hargrave to free agency. Replacement Tyson Alualu, 33, is a competent backup but no better. The nose tackle plays as often as the Steelers are in their base 3-4. That was 29% of the snaps last year.

Inside linebacker Mark Barron is gone. He played 69% of the defensive snaps. Devin Bush played 82%. Vince Williams played 37%.

Bush can play more, but how much more? Williams can play more, but precedent shows that might translate into playing worse. The top backup inside appears to be Ulysses Gilbert, who played zero defensive snaps last year. Robert Spillane is another backup inside. He played one defensive snap in ’19.

The backups at outside linebacker are Ola Adeniyi, Tuzar Skipper and rookie Alex Highsmith. Adeniyi played 62 snaps on defense. Skipper played 40 defensive snaps with the New York Giants, who were so impressed that they cut him.

If Bush, Williams, Watt or Bud Dupree suffers a significant injury, it would be disastrous for the defense. Never mind if defensive end Stephon Tuitt gets sidelined, which happens to some degree just about every season.

Foes will have better ideas on attacking that defense. Protecting the ball will be paramount. Fitzpatrick has established a no-fly zone in the field’s middle. It would help if Terrell Edmunds made more plays from his safety spot, but he has been mediocre so far.

Roethlisberger’s performance could provide a big boost to the defense.

The defense was on the field for 1,030 plays last season, 43 more than in 2018.

The Steelers were just 27th in the NFL in time of possession at 28 minutes, 48 seconds per game.

The Steelers held a double-digit lead for just 102 minutes last year, and 72 of those came in early-season victories against Cincinnati and the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Steelers never scored more than 27 points in a game and tallied just 10 points in each of their last three games (all losses). They were the only team in the NFL to not score at least 30 points in a game.

If the offense scores more, possesses the ball more and the Steelers lead more and by more, that provides better situations for the defense, which did well to avoid burnout while playing so many tight games in ’19. That defensive performance is all the more amazing considering the demanding situations created by an impotent attack.

The defense won’t surprise anybody this season. Fitzpatrick’s arrival resulted in an overhaul that trickled down quickly and favorably. That won’t happen again.

Getting 38 takeaways again seems a pipe dream.

But if Roethlisberger and the offense give the defense more favorable circumstances to work with, more sacks and a better overall defense are possible.

Or maybe Watt and Bush get hurt and the Steelers go 7-9.