The Pittsburgh Steelers needed a big play late in the fourth quarter on Saturday.
Down by one point, quarterback Landry Jones had just thrown an interception to the Cincinnati Bengals’ Vontaze Burfict at the Steelers’ 26-yard line, and the Bengals had a chance to run the clock out.
Ryan Shazier delivered the play the Steelers needed.
Lined up in a single-back formation, running back Jeremy Hill broke to his right, took the AJ McCarron handoff and ran between the right guard and tackle. Shazier read the play and ran towards the hole Hill ran through before running into Andrew Whitworth’s block. Hill passed Whitworth and Shazier, but not before the linebacker wrapped up Hill from behind and went for the ball.
Using his right hand, Shazier ripped the ball out of Hill’s grasp before the running back was ruled down. The leather bounced off the turf before being recovered by cornerback Ross Cockrell. The Steelers used the turnover to drive down the field before winning on a game-winning field goal.
Shazier literally snatched victory out of the arms of defeat.
But that wasn’t the only play the second-year linebacker made against the Bengals.
On the night, he finished with 11 tackles – more than anyone on the field that night – and forced two fumbles, one of which he recovered after dislodging the ball from Giovanni Bernard’s grasp. He also swatted down McCarron’s desperation pass as time expired to seal the Steelers win.
It was the type of performance Shazier needed.
Since being drafted in the first round in 2014, Shazier has shown star potential. Against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2, he finished with 15 tackles and one sack. On the year, he finished with 87 tackles three-and-a-half sacks and one interception.
Shazier was also clocked at running a 4.36 40-yard dash time at the 2014 NFL Combine, the fasted at his position by more than a tenth of a second, which he uses to in coverage and track down tackles from the opposite end of the field.
But the biggest issue for Shazier in his career has been health. In his two years in the NFL, he’s missed 11 games already due to injury. And that is what will determine his ceiling.
There have been suggestions that the undersized Shazier, who stands at six feet, one inch and 230 pounds, may be better at safety due to his speed. His performance Saturday, where he played every defensive snap, showed why the Steelers drafted him to play inside linebacker instead.
Behind Shazier are inside linebackers Sean Spence and Vince Williams, and both have stolen snaps from Shazier in the past. The Steelers using their strong depth at the position may be the best way to preserve Shazier and keep him from being another Kendrell Bell – a talented linebacker that can’t stay healthy.
Spence and Williams are talented defenders, but neither offer the ceiling Shazier’s speed gives him.
As the young linebacker matures and following starting inside linebacker Lawrence Timmons gets older, Shazier will be expected to become a defensive player make. He has all the tools, and he flashes star potential when on the field.
Now, he needs to stay on it.
Facing the possibility of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and wide receiver Antonio Brown being limited against the Denver Broncos, the Steelers defense will need to step up to limit Peyton Manning and the Broncos offense.
A big game from Shazier will go a long way toward doing just that.
