Tennessee’s defense stepped up when it mattered most on Saturday in the 34-27 overtime victory at Pittsburgh.

The offense stumbled at times, as did the special teams unit, but the game was won on the defensive side of the ball.

The Vols have had to rely on their offense to get it done in the past against talented opponents, and in most instances they have come up short. It seems Tennessee finally took a step forward and answered the question people have been asking about this team all offseason on Saturday: Can the defense come up with stops when the offense desperately needs it to?

I offer 4 key plays from Saturday as proof that they can:

You could make a case for any of these 4 clips being the play of the game. I’m going to go with Trevon Flowers’ sack on 3rd down in overtime, followed closely by Wesley Walker’s huge stop on 4th down in the 2nd quarter. Pitt was humming on offense heading into overtime; if Flowers doesn’t pin the Panthers back beyond the 20 there could have been trouble.

Not to mention, Tennessee’s offense scored just 10 points after halftime –- a field goal in the 4th quarter and the go-ahead touchdown pass from Hendon Hooker to Cedric Tillman in overtime. Scoring again following what could have been a Pitt score had Flowers not intervened wasn’t a given.

Stats mean close to nothing without context, but let’s run through them anyway just for a kick in the head. The Vols defense totaled 4 sacks, 9 tackles for loss, 4 pass deflections, 16 quarterback hurries, 1 fumble recovery and an interception against a strong Panthers offense. Pitt converted just 4 of 18 3rd-down attempts.

It’s impossible to talk about the defensive effort without noting what a force linebacker Aaron Beasley was. He played very well against Ball State but took it even further Saturday, recording a team-high 14 tackles with 1 tackle for loss, 1 pass deflection and 3 quarterback hurries.

Quarterback Kedon Slovis exiting early might have had something to do with this, but the Panthers went from averaging 7.6 yards per play in the first half to just 2.9 yards per play in the second. That shows adjustment from Tim Banks’ defensive unit, and that’s essential against talented opponents like Pitt.

Part of that adjustment includes playing to the strengths and weaknesses of the guys on the field and the opponent. Tennessee stopped sending the farm on blitzes on every 3rd-down play as the game went longer when the Vols’ high-powered offense started to sputter a little. When Slovis exited, the Vols made sure Nick Patti wasn’t going to be the guy who beat them, putting a little extra emphasis on Israel Abanikanda and the run.

Vols head coach Josh Heupel was beaming when talking about the defensive effort on Saturday night. He opened his postgame press conference by stating that the Vols need to get better on offense and special teams. The defense?

“Defensive effort, just in general, absolutely relentless,” Heupel said. “I said it earlier, the second, third and fourth quarter, that’s as good of a performance as I’ve been around in a long time. They got put in a lot of bad positions, from turnovers, short fields, special teams. They reset, they played. They were physical, the front four, and their pressures were relentless on the quarterback all night long. If we hadn’t sacked them, we were hitting them early in the ballgame.”

Saturday’s win was likely Tennessee’s most important since 2016 over Georgia. Sure, you can throw in Tennessee’s win at Kentucky last season as a contender, but Saturday’s game showed Vols fans –- as well as the SEC as a whole –- that Tennessee doesn’t just see itself as a one-dimensional offensive juggernaut anymore. If Saturday’s game is an indicator, the Volunteers are a terrifying offensive team that can get it done when it matters on the other side of the ball.

There are many more tests to pass. Let’s not crown the Vols quite yet. Tennessee, now the No. 15 team in the most recent AP poll, welcomes Florida to town in Week 4 for what will very likely be a Top 25 clash. The Vols should be favorites to win just their second game over the Gators since 2005, and Neyland Stadium is sure to be rocking when UF visits later this month.

But with Florida comes Anthony Richardson and a weak point for Tennessee’s defense last year –- the Vols’ inability to contain mobile quarterbacks.

Well, Richardson is the mobile quarterback in college football right now. He didn’t look too hot against Kentucky, but he torched then-No. 7 Utah in the season opener for 3 touchdowns with his feet. Players far worse at running the ball have gotten the better of Tennessee –- specifically the Vols’ linebackers –- in the past.

So Sept. 24 will be a day for Tennessee to exorcise a few demons.