You’ve heard of “Tomlinisms.”

Thursday, one of Mike Tomlin’s top lieutenants dropped a colorful idiom of his own.

Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin was explaining why the players on his unit have been so successful this season in stopping teams once they drive inside the Steelers’ 20 yard-line.

“They,” Austin said of Steelers defensive players, “don’t shrink up when it gets tight and crunchy down there.”

Presumably, Austin wasn’t referencing potato chips or carrot sticks but instead turning a phrase that describes the shorter field offenses operate in as they approach the end zone.

At the rough midway point of this season, the Steelers defense is statistically the best in the NFL when that happens. Opponents have scored nine touchdowns among 24 possessions that get within 20 yards of the end zone. That 37.5% opponent TD rate is lowest in the league.

“Obviously we have got some good players that are able to make plays,” Austin said. “I think our guys are doing a good job of working at it, recognizing some tendencies of other people, seeing what they do and putting themselves in position to make plays and finishing it off.”

The New York Giants didn’t finish off any of their three red zone trips during the Steelers’ most recent game, a 26-18 win Oct. 28.

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