Had I told you at the beginning of the season that cornerbacks Brice McCain and Antwon Blake would be pivotal parts of the Pittsburgh Steelers winning a Week 17 game, your first thoughts would likely be something like this.
Who? Are we playing for the first pick in the draft?
But the Steelers weren’t playing for the first pick in next year’s draft, they were playing for the AFC North division crown and the Steelers are hosting a playoff game on Saturday night, largely due to the play of their two no-name cornerbacks.
“We’ve taken our lumps and they’ve remained focused and they stayed together,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. “They’re playing with better confidence and they’re making plays. It’s just the natural maturation process when you don’t let outside forces interrupt it and you stay focused on growth and development. I give them credit for doing that. I think their play has been on the upswing because of it.”
Those outside forces Tomlin was referring to likely is the criticism of the Steelers secondary from the media and Steelers fans everywhere.
That same secondary, that was so poor for most of the season has come on as of late, mostly due to the play of McCain and Blake. That duo combined to force three big turnovers against the Bengals on Sunday night as they showed that they don’t let the criticism they received early in the season bother them.
“We don’t really listen to the outside,” said Blake. “We’re a family and we stick together through thick and thin. So whatever criticism you give, we aren’t going to pay attention to any of it.”
The journey for both Blake and McCain to the spots they are currently in has been a long one.
Blake went undrafted out of UTEP and was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He was released on September 1, 2013 and signed by the Steelers the very next day.
He stuck around mostly as a special teams player, but was given an opportunity to show what he could do in the team’s nickel defense the past three games while veteran Ike Taylor sat with an injured forearm. It was the second time this season that Blake had been added to the sub-package. The first came after Cortez Allen’s struggles forced him out of the starting lineup.
The final result was Blake making perhaps the biggest play on Sunday night’s win when he forced a fumble for Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green and subsequently recovered the loose ball.
As for McCain, the 28-year old out of Utah was drafted by the Houston Texans in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL Draft.
After five seasons with the Texans, he was released on March 11, 2014 and signed by the Steelers a month later. During this season, he had a big pick six against the Jaguars that likely won them the game and picked off Andy Dalton twice on Sunday night.
The Steelers might not be playing at all this weekend if it weren’t for a pair of guys that were lucky to even be the fourth or fifth corners on this roster heading into the season.
Pittsburgh was often criticized for not addressing the position in the offseason, but McCain and Blake are starting to make that decision look ok.
“Numbers and where we were on the depth chart were never an issue for us,” said McCain. We both know we can play. We were just waiting for our turn. It’s real funny because we trained together in the offseason and we look back at then and think it’s crazy. We didn’t expect to be balling for the Steelers right now.”
“We are both very blessed and humbled. We have worked hard for it. People don’t see the hard work the two of us have put in. But it is starting to show up now.”
The success of both McCain and Blake has been a nice story late in the season as the Steelers enter the playoffs riding a four-game win streak.
If they plan on making it five and taking a trip to Denver next week, they are going to need both McCain and Blake to show up and make plays once again.
Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco will test both of them, especially with the deep ball, but McCain feel they both will be up for the challenge, along with the rest of the Steelers defense.
When the Steelers win the turnover battle, they are 9-0 on the season.
“That’s the key,” said McCain. “When you win the turnover battle, you win games. That’s not going to change for the playoffs. With our high-powered offense, if we can keep forcing turnovers then we are going to be tough to beat.”
If they force a couple this weekend, the Steelers pair of no-name cornerbacks likely won’t be no-names for much longer.
Photo Credit: Post-Gazette
