Steel Mill A.M.: Will Steelers' defense finally have all starting 11?

BALTIMORE – It never happened last season, and not during the first three weeks of 2017, either.

It's been 21 months since the Steelers played a regular-season game with all 11 projected starters in uniform and activated.

Could it happen Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium?

With Stephon Tuitt and T.J. Watt returning from injury absences, the Steelers' defense potentially could be at full strength for Sunday's early-season AFC North showdown against the Baltimore Ravens.

“That's' important,” cornerback Artie Burns said. “We want to get in a rhythm with each other and get a feel for each other, so having all 11 out on the field on the same time is definitely a bonus.”

The only possible barrier to achieving that is the status of the Steelers' starting safeties. Both Sean Davis (ankle) and Mike Mitchell (hamstring) are officially considered questionable after each sat out Wednesday's practice and was limited on both Thursday and Friday. Mitchell and Davis also each have missed time during the first three games of the season and were banged up during training camp.

Still, each separately indicated after practice Friday that he expects to play against the Ravens, If both do, it would be the first time the Steelers have a defense at full strength (among its starters) since Jan. 3, 2016 – the final day of the 2015 regular season when they won at Cleveland while the New York Jets were simultaneously losing to Buffalo, giving the Steelers the AFC's final playoff spot.

Since then, injuries to Bud Dupree over the first half of last season and Cameron Heyward over the second half of last season – combined with ailments to Tuitt, Ryan Shazier, Javon Hargrave and Davis interspersed in between – meant the Steelers have always been playing shorthanded on defense.

If Davis and Mitchell are good to go Sunday, that won't be the case anymore.

“That's very exciting,” said Heyward, a defensive end and the defense's captain. “But I've said this before: you don't rely on potential. Potential doesn't get the job done. We've got to go out there and prove it, no matter who's out there, that ‘220' should sting. So I think whoever's out there, we're looking to answer that.”

The “220” Heyward is referring to is the 222 rushing yards the defense submitted to the Chicago Bears in last week's defeat. That performance marred what has been a strong statistical start to the season: the Steelers' defense ranks third in the NFL in both yardage per game (260.0) and points per game (16.7) allowed.

Mike Tomlin will remind anyone that asks that injuries are a much a part of football as blocking and tackling. And it's safe to say that even if the Steelers' starting 11 is active today it won't be for all of the remaining 12 games on the schedule. Odds are, if the Steelers make the playoffs, at least one “backup” will be starting by then.

But, perhaps, for at least one Sunday in early October, all could be present and accounted for on the Steelers' defense.

Chris Adamski is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at cadamski@tribweb.com or via Twitter @C_AdamskiTrib.