A point of emphasis for the Steelers’ defense in advance of the Cincinnati rematch had been tightening up against motions, stacks and bunches, according to free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Although the problems against such formations were for the most part addressed, Austin expects to see them again.
“Absolutely, because that’s what people do,” he continued. “They’re gonna move people. They’re not gonna allow you to just take a picture of what they’re doing and then snap the ball.
“We’ve gotta be able to handle the movements, the stacks, the bunches, the jet-motions, the regular motions, all those things and be really efficient at it.”
A problem specific to defending Baltimore, where the Steelers open the playoffs on Saturday against the Ravens, is how to contain quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry, two of the best in the business at their respective positions.
“When I look at this team the ball and all the football, really, runs through No. 8 (Jackson) and No. 22 (Henry),” Austin observed. “We have to take care of those guys first.”
Henry carried 13 times for 65 yards and a touchdown but also lost a fumble in the Steelers’ 18-16 victory over the Ravens on Nov. 17 at Acrisure.
He carried 24 times for 162 yards in the regular-season rematch, a 34-17 Ravens victory on Dec. 21 in Baltimore.
“We’ve got to do things better than we did the last time out, and that means making sure we shut down the running lanes and we tackle,” Austin emphasized. “Early in the game, (Henry) got some explosive runs. And when he gets explosive runs and gets going, it’s hard, and it makes it hard at that point, because now you try to focus on him, and that opens it up for Lamar.
“So we just have to do a better job overall in terms of not letting him get started, trying to eliminate the splash runs early and then kind of settle in the game and see how it goes.”
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