If you read the headline and did a Mike Tomlin “obviously” reaction, I sympathize with you.

It’s been painfully obvious for several years now, that the Steelers have had difficulty getting off the field on third down… or so we think.

In particular, the Steelers defense is a unit which suffered miserably in defending against the pass. (Obviously.)

But more specifcially, the Steelers were horrid at giving up first downs via the pass.

The 2015 Steelers defense was uncharacteristic in more ways than one. A traditionally strong unit, which was a perennial league leader for years, is coming off one of it’s worst statistical seasons in nearly almost 25 years. In an attempt to fix the problem, the team used 5 of it’s 7 total draft picks on defensive players. The Steelers top two draft picks were used on cornerback Artie Burns and safety Sean Davis, to help fix a secondary which finished 30th in passing defense… and relinquished the 3rd worst first downs by the pass (also 30th in the league.)

While a sieve at giving up first downs overall, Pittsburgh’s defense fared stronger on defending third down conversions by passing; ranking 15th in the league (right in the middle of the pack) with a 38.42% rating. That average figure was above the line for a league-worst pass defense, yet, as bad as the Steelers were against the pass, they conceded next to nothing against the run. The team’s run defense only allowed the 2nd most rushing first downs in 2015, tying with the much more “respected” Seattle Seahawks.

It goes without saying,  the team will have to improve their pass coverage will maintaining a stout run defense, in order to improve their odds in 2016. While the infusion of youth garnered excitement towards fixing the passing woes, a poor showing in the Steelers first preseason game against the Lions left Steelers Nation skeptical about making that improvement. Pittsburgh allowed 20 first downs to the Lions; 16 of those by passing, for an alarming 63% conversion rate on 3rd down. (The Lions did not attempt a 4th down in this game.)

Regardless, I saw promise in an otherwise ugly game that would sway me from that skepticism.

The Steelers still maintained their bend but don’t break mentality, forcing two turnovers: one on a James Harrison strip-sack, and another on a Doran Grant pick-six. A pass breakup by Ross Cockrell also forced the Lions to settle for a field goal. Plays such as these were a hallmark of the 2015 Steelers defense, which held opponents to a 6th best redzone touchdown percentage last season.

Therefore it’s safe to say, the Steelers could still improve on a defense which ranked 4th in fumbles recovered, 6th in interceptions, 3rd in sacks, and were tied 3rd overall in takeaways last season. Improvement on pass defense could put this team over the top, if it can merely break a marginal improvement (15th-20th overall) ranking in passing yards, which should, in turn, affect passing first downs allowed.

With how bad the team fared against the pass last year, and how strong they remained against the run, as well as a strong redzone presence and takeaway department, it would be safe to say that small adjustment could also catapult Pittsburgh into the league’s finest for points allowed; a category they were 9th in a year ago.

Yet, it’s the first down conversions which are key to allowing less points. The Steelers defense was on the field for a 10th-most 1,055 plays from scrimmage.

So why am I still optimistic? The only other team in the top ten to make the playoffs and allow more plays?

The Carolina Panthers: sitting at ninth overall with 3 more plays allowed.

One might think that leaving your defense on the field for too long might be a recipe for disaster, but the Patriots, Chiefs, Broncos and Bengals all narrowly followed the Steelers in this category, with somewhere between 1-2 less plays per game on average.

This mirrors the critical statistic of the Lions game, where Detroit was afforded 20 more plays than the Steelers, due to the plethora of first down allowed… by the pass.

Thus, the major indicator seeing progress in the Steelers pass defense will be the amount of first downs they allow in the air. Teams will continue taking their shots by throwing, rather than running, knowing the success rate is much higher. This is where young players such as Burns, Davis and others will have to learn on the job, obviously; to help support the run defense, and the Steelers resurgence in sacks and takeaways.