Marcus Allen, Antoine Brooks latest Steelers to contribute on defense

The Pittsburgh Steelers continue to search for the right combinations to their subpackage defense in light of injuries to Devin Bush and Mike Hilton. Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals presented the newest personnel grouping.

A day after being added to the 53-man roster for the first time this season, rookie Antoine Brooks played extensively during the 36-10 win. With the Bengals in passing formations much of the day, Brooks and Marcus Allen were a regular part of the “dime” package.

“We always have had that next-man-up mentality,” defensive co-captain T.J. Watt said. “And not having Mike Hilton is a blow to our defense. He’s a great player for us, especially against the run, a good nickel for us. So to have guys step in like Marcus Allen and Brooksie playing well … it allows us to give guys more exposure to our defense, especially NFL game speed.”

A sixth-round pick as a safety and hybrid linebacker out of Maryland, Brooks made his NFL debut last week as a practice-squad call-up against the Dallas Cowboys. But Brooks played only special teams in that game.

Sunday, Brooks was not only a fixture in the dime but also appeared to play some in the nickel.

Allen, meanwhile, had only 33 defensive snaps over three seasons since being a fifth-round pick out of Penn State in 2018. He had not appeared during a regular-season game on defense in 23 months before he played 11 snaps Nov. 1 at Baltimore. He played four snaps against the Cowboys, but Sunday he was used as the only “linebacker” on the field in the dime.

Allen was a safety at Penn State and practiced at safety with the Steelers until they moved him to linebacker in August.

“Marcus Allen and Antoine both are very good at blitzing and covering, so just trying to get new bodies in there and get their feet wet,” veteran cornerback Joe Haden said. “I think they played very well. I think we have so many players in back end who can play, so it’s good to get them in there and see what we can do.”

Bush, the Steelers’ starting every-down inside linebacker, is out for the season because of a torn ACL. Hilton, the starting slot cornerback, has missed the past four games because of a shoulder injury.

When the season began, Hilton, Cameron Sutton and Bush were used in passing situations, but with Hilton out Sutton has filled in as the nickel.

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