Mack Wilson had a simple assessment of the defensive effort: “We played to the standard.”

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — After Alabama allowed 31 points to Arkansas two weeks ago, inside linebacker Mack Wilson took to Twitter to place blame on himself for the defense’s struggles.

The junior linebacker is the leader and signal caller for Alabama’s revamped defense that lost its entire secondary and other starters from the national championship team last season.

So when Alabama held Missouri to 10 points this past Saturday, Wilson once again let his 40,000-plus followers know what was on his mind. Only this time it was a positive post.

Wilson said it was satisfying to shut down the Tigers.

“I feel like every day, there’s always room for improvement,” Wilson said. “I feel like there’s a standard of what we need to play like every week. That’s just another stepping stone toward the goals we’re trying to get to. So, back to work to go. We’re not satisfied ever.”

Alabama coach Nick Saban liked what he saw from Wilson in Alabama’s bounce-back game.

“He played really well last week,” Saban said. “He’s one of the players of the week on defense. Played really well. He’s very productive and did a better job of making adjustments in the game with the front, got us in the right lanes. I thought Mack did a really good job in the game.”

There was a ton of talk and criticism around Alabama’s defense heading into the Missouri game, and Alabama responded with a statement on Saturday. The Tigers’ lone touchdown came after an Alabama fumble that gave them a short field.

Alabama held Missouri scoreless after the first quarter. Drew Lock threw for just 142 yards and 2 interceptions to 1 touchdown.

Alabama forced 3 turnovers and allowed only 212 total yards, which was an average of 3.5 yards per play. It was a dominant performance all around.

Alabama right tackle Jedrick Wills saw this performance coming in practice last week. He saw a different level of focus.

“I feel like last week, they really picked up a whole bunch,” Wills said of the defense. “They want to establish what everyone knows Alabama for, which is a really strong, relentless defense. They have all the tools to do that. If they stay with that physicality and keep getting better every week, they’ll be really good.”

Alabama ranks in the top 10 in scoring defense, allowing 15.1 points per game. But a lot of the Crimson Tide’s defensive numbers are skewed. Alabama’s first-team defense has been lights out for the most part, but the backups have given up a good amount of yards and points over the past few weeks.

So, doubt Alabama’s defense if you want, but it may backfire on you. The Missouri game was just the first step in the right direction.

“We played up to the standard,” Wilson said. “But I still feel like we left some stuff out of the field, and there’s definitely some stuff that we can go back and correct today based on the explosive plays that they did get Saturday. So, I’m pretty sure that there’s a whole lot of room for improvement.”