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Myles Jack on Steelers Slow 2-5 Start: “I’m Not Quitting”

Originally posted on Steeler Nation | Last updated 10/25/22

The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered another heartbreaking defeat on Sunday night against the Miami Dolphins. A loss means they have dropped five of their last six games. There is no question where the blame has lied for the first month and a half of the young season, and that is how our offense has been producing under offensive coordinator Matt Canada. I think SteelerNation expected our offense to be a bit more productive now that rookie Kenny Pickett has taken over the rings as the team’s starting quarterback, but the team’s record does not suggest so.

As of now, the Steelers sit in fourth place in the AFC North with a record of 2-5 with the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles next up on our schedule. Although the race for the AFC North title still remains in sight, the Steelers are going to have to play their best football during the most important time of the season, a tough task for any team to complete, especially with a rookie quarterback under center. It’s safe to say that this Steelers team is going to have to rely on the efforts of their defense in order to remain competitive for the remainder of the season.

A positive for the Steelers has been the play of their defensive unit as of late. After a slow start to the new season and starting outside linebacker T.J. Watt being put on the IR with a torn pec, this defense has held its own the past two weeks, against tough opponents. A good reason for this late success could be because of the positive linebacker play we have seen from our featured linebackers. Both Myles Jack and Devin Bush have had strong starts to the season, and so far, have met expectations made this off-season.

Despite this slow 2-5 record to start the year, both linebackers have stepped up when the defense has needed it. Jack, who signed a new two-year deal with the Steelers this off-season, has proved his worth. He currently sits seventh in the NFL with 68 combined total tackles and adds two pass deflections and two tackles for loss to his resume as well. It’s fair to say that Jack’s performance on the field has helped bring out the best in Bush’s play as well. Both have contributed key defensive plays on turnover downs that have helped keep two dynamic offenses in check, for back-to-back weeks.

“I really like how our defense weathered the storm towards the end. Obviously you want to start out better and try to put the offense in better scenarios but I liked how we picked it up. Nobody got mad, nobody got down. We just kinda continued playing. Crunch time, I feel like defensively we really strapped up,” Jack said.

The Steelers have always been known to “play through their defense” and the same can be said for this season. With a rookie quarterback under center and a struggling game plan, this offense will take all the help it can get from the opposite side of the ball. Although the record might not be in our favor, Jack has done a good job being one of the “catalysts” of this defense and is one of the reasons why this team has been staying competitive so far. Although 2-5 is not the best spot to be at during this point of the season, Jack thinks this defense has shown a lot of positive aspects, especially with these past two tough opponents.

“For one, it’s early in the year. You could say we are six or seven plays away from our record looking completely different. At the end of the day, we still got 10 games left. I feel like if we can put a stop and kind of contain Tom Brady and then come back to this dynamic offense where you got Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle and Raheem Mostert and we are giving them 16 points, that’s definitely something to build off of. So I’m excited. I’m not quitting.”