It goes back to Bill Cowher and Dick LeBeau, one of the great defensive coordinators in NFL history. It has continued with Mike Tomlin and Keith Butler. The Steelers routinely torment rookie quarterbacks. Last week, it was Cincinnati's Joe Burrow, a Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall pick. Sunday, it was Jacksonville's Jake Luton, a little-known sixth-round draft choice from Oregon State. The fights weren't fair. Bengals Coach Zac Taylor and the Jaguars' Doug Marrone should have thrown in the towel.
Ask Ben Roethlisberger.
"I'm glad I don't have to play against our defense," he has said often in this perfect, 10-0 season, the 10th win coming 27-3 against the Jaguars.
What the Steelers did to Burrow and especially Luton brought back wonderful memories of what their defense did years ago to a rookie quarterback named John Elway, another No. 1 overall pick and Hall of Famer-to-be. Elway made his NFL debut at Three Rivers Stadium in 1983 and completed 1 of 8 passes for 14 yards, was sacked four times, threw an interception, lost a fumble and had an intentional grounding penalty before being benched at halftime. Afterward, Elway said of facing Jack Lambert and the rest of that Steelers gang, "He had no teeth and he was slobbering all over himself. I'm thinking, 'You can have your money back, just get me out of here. Let me go be an accountant.' "
Could you blame Luton if he had similar feelings?
"We have an unleash mentality regardless of who we play," Tomlin said Sunday. "The catalyst for it all is that the guys are playing extremely hard and fast. I think that creates the frenzy that provides the wave that we ride."
That was some wave against the Jaguars.
It certainly washed the overmatched Luton out to sea, thanks to 2 sacks, 7 quarterback hits and 4 interceptions. A week earlier, in a 36-10 win against the Bengals, it all but drowned Burrow, who was sacked four times and hit nine other times.
"Those are two teams we should beat like that," Minkah Fitzpatrick said. "We're a very talented team. We should have won those games like that."
Stephon Tuitt's sack in the third quarter Sunday gave the Steelers at least one sack in 67 consecutive regular-season games, just two shy of the NFL record set by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1999-2003. Bud Dupree added the second sack early in the fourth quarter with a marvelous athletic display, fighting off offensive tackle Cam Robinson with his right arm as he pulled down Luton from behind with his left. The Steelers lead the NFL with 38 sacks.
Fitzpatrick had two interceptions, as did Terrell Edmunds. That gave the Steelers multiple turnovers for the eighth time in their 10 wins. They lead the NFL with 21 takeaways and have a league-best 59 going back to the start of last season.
Fitzpatrick's first interception ended the Jaguars' best hope at making it a game. On a second-and-9 play from the Steelers' 11, he jumped on a pass that was tipped at the line of scrimmage by Tyson Alualu and returned it 37 yards to set up the touchdown that gave the Steelers a 17-3 lead late in the first half.
It almost seemed surprising that the Jaguars moved 52 yards on their first drive for a field goal and a 3-0 lead. The rest of their possessions went punt, punt, punt, interception, interception, punt, punt, punt, interception, interception, downs. Those 11 drives produced just 154 yards. The Jaguars were 4 for 13 on third-down conversions a week after Burrow and the Bengals went 0 for 13.
This seems like a good time to mention the Steelers' record against rookie quarterbacks going back to 2004.
Would you believe 26-4?
The Steelers have a four-game lead over the Baltimore Ravens (6-4) in the AFC North Division, getting a nice little gift Sunday from the Tennessee Titans, who beat the Ravens in overtime, 30-24. The Steelers and Ravens play on Thursday night at Heinz Field.
It's no longer a question if the Ravens or even the Cleveland Browns (7-3) can catch the Steelers in the division race. The question is, can the Steelers go 16-0?
"We did the job today," Tomlin said. "But nothing is perfect about us except our record."