Plays of the Year: Tyson Alualu’s huge fourth down stop
Steel City Underground presents “Plays of the Year” featuring the tops runs, catches, hits and everything else in-between for the Steelers 2017 season.
Steelers fans have become accustomed to seeing their franchise gain extra picks in the NFL Draft each season, through the league’s compensatory system.
That system awards 32 total draft picks to teams based on an undisclosed formula which takes into account free agents lost and gained during the offseason. For 2018, the Steelers were not awarded a compensatory selection. The thought is that one of the players added in free agency, DE Tyson Alualu, knocked Pittsburgh out of rankings for one of those picks.
Fans with a short memory may be thinking: “Tyson who?” Alualu’s signing flew under the radar as one of the flashier additions to any team last season, however, while his contract wasn’t big or small, it was one of the team-friendly deals we’ve come to expect from the Steelers. Lacking depth behind their starters, the former first-round pick via Jacksonville was signed to be an emergency policy for Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt.
That policy was cashed in right before the Steelers bye week during a Week 8 primetime clash with the Detroit Lions. Alualu made an impact in the game, especially on this 4th-and-1 Detroit play from Pittsburgh’s one-yard line.
Down 13-12, the Lions were poised to go-ahead on their third try from the one. Detroit QB Matthew Stafford stepped back to pass, and whether planned or not, a delay appeared to open a lane for the quarterback to run unimpeded to the end zone.
However, Alualu makes a great awareness play, using his athleticism to spin and stop Stafford for a loss. The sack would turn the ball over on downs and set up the huge 97-yard pass play from Ben Roethlisberger to JuJu Smith-Schuster a little over a minute later.
The Steelers would prevail with a 20-15 win, improving their record to 6-2 before their much-needed week of rest.
