On a second-and-8 snap from the Atlanta 35-yard line, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Montravius Adams bulled his way into the Falcons’ backfield and sacked quarterback Kirk Cousins for a 9-yard loss on Sunday.
Adams’ third-quarter tackle in the Steelers’ 18-10 victory was his third solo sack since entering the NFL as a third-round draft pick from Auburn in 2017.
RELATED: AUBURN NFL ROUNDUP: WEEK 1
His most recent sack had come on Jan. 16, 2022, when Adams got to Patrick Mahomes in the Steelers’ 42-21 playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Adams’ only other regular-season solo sack came on Nov. 11, 2018, when he took down Brock Osweiler in the Green Bay Packers’ 31-12 victory over the Miami Dolphins.
After the Steelers defeated Atlanta, Adams put the focus on the Pittsburgh defense, which held the Falcons to 226 yards on the opening Sunday of the NFL’s 2024 season.
“I think we’ve grown as a D-line, and I just think we’re going to continue to get better,” Adams said. “I think we encourage each other. I think we help keep each other in the moment. And I really believe the sky’s the limit for our D-line. As long as we stay together, we can do whatever we want.”
Last season, the defense carried Pittsburgh to the playoffs. While the Steelers offense finished 28th in points and 25th in yards among the 32 NFL teams in 2023, the Pittsburgh defense ranked fifth in points allowed and eighth in yards allowed.
The Steelers addressed their offensive shortcomings in the offseason by acquiring two starting quarterbacks. Pittsburgh signed nine-time Pro Bowler Russell Wilson as a free agent and traded with the Chicago Bears for Justin Fields.
With Wilson injured, Fields started against Atlanta, but the Pittsburgh offense produced only 270 yards.
Adams thinks the Steelers defense will be better this season.
“I just feel like this year we’re at a point like we don’t have the Year-1-, Year-2-guy mentality,” Adams said. “I think everybody’s kind of grown, and I just think that’s part of the key piece because I don’t feel like we have a drop-off.”
What Adams wants to see on the Pittsburgh defense is better communication.
“Everything always be so much better with communication,” Adams said. “If I’m being honest, I think it’s OK, but I think that’s a characteristic that we can strengthen. …
“I think it starts with guys trusting each other and the things we did in training camp, the camaraderie-building things that just help bring us together as people not only as football players.”
Adams made three tackles on Sunday as he played 20 of the Steelers’ 56 defensive snaps.
Adams has experienced a career rejuvenation since joining Pittsburgh during the 2021 season, and he’s signed two two-year contracts with the team.
Two days into his first NFL training camp in 2017, Adams had a broken foot, an injury that required surgery to insert a screw in the long bone on the outside of the foot that connects to the little toe. The injury kept Adams out of practice until Sept. 5, and he didn’t play until Sept. 25. The late start limited Adams to 66 defensive snaps in seven games as a rookie.
Adams played in every game in 2018, with 212 defensive snaps. He got one start, made 21 tackles, recorded 1.5 sacks and forced a fumble after entering the regular playing rotation halfway through the season.
Adams began 2019 in the Packers’ starting lineup as a defensive end in a three-man front. But after starting the first two games, Adams missed the next two because of a shoulder injury, and when he returned for Game 5, Tyler Lancaster held the starting spot. Adams played 41 of his regular-season defensive-snap count of 187 in the first two games. He had 11 tackles and one fumble recovery in 2019.
Adams’ fourth NFL season came to a premature end in 2020. He didn’t play after Nov. 15 because of a toe injury. In eight games, Adams recorded 11 tackles, including two behind the line of scrimmage, while playing 130 defensive snaps.
Adams signed as a free agent with the New England Patriots in March 2021. The Patriots released Adams on Aug. 31, 2021, in the roster reduction between the preseason and regular season, and he joined the New Orleans Saints six days later.
New Orleans released and re-signed Adams twice during the 2021 season before Pittsburgh signed him off the Saints’ practice squad on Nov. 30, 2021.
Adams started four of the Steelers’ final five games in 2021, then reached career highs with 17 games, nine starts and 26 tackles in 2022 after re-signing with Pittsburgh.
Even though he missed four games with an ankle injury, Adams played a career-high 416 defensive snaps in 2023.
In March, Adams signed a two-year, $5.25 million contract to stay with the Steelers.
Pittsburgh plays the Denver Broncos at 3:25 p.m. CDT Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver. The Broncos kicked off their 2024 campaign with a 26-20 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
“I know they going to come on their home field and be ready to win,” Adams said. “But it’s mostly about us and just continuing to try to get better one week at a time, one day at a time.”
FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
