Steelers Star Pinpoints Defense’s ‘Unacceptable’ Issue After Week 7 Loss

The Pittsburgh Steelers defense has several questions to answer after Thursday night’s 33-31 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

In just his second game since getting traded within the division after an early benching, Joe Flacco shredded the Steelers for 342 passing yards and three touchdowns. Cam Heyward, however, pointed the blame elsewhere.

The star defensive tackle instead identified Pittsburgh’s run defense as the root of its problems, per ESPN’s Brooke Pryor.

“It’s not the secondary; that’s a cop-out,” Heyward said after Thursday’s loss. “I think the front line, we got to control the line of scrimmage a lot better. I’m pissed off. We didn’t take care of our job … They were last in rushing, and the way we gave it up today, that takes the cake. We got to stop the (expletive) run. That’s as simple as that.”

The Bengals had averaged a miscropic 57.7 rushing yards per game before Week 7, well below the 31st-ranked Tennessee Titans at 81.8. Yet their ground game finally gained some traction, garnering 142 yards against the Steelers at Paycor Stadium.

Chase Brown hadn’t reached 50 rushing yards in a game this season before amassing 108 on just 11 carries. The Bengals scored 17 points in the second quarter behind 27- and 37-yard runs from Brown to begin consecutive drives.

To Mike Tomlin’s chagrin, Cincinnati compiled 97 rushing yards in the first half.

“The first half, we allowed them to run the ball too much,” Tomlin said. “I think they had about 100 yards rushing at the half, and then, we turned the ball over a couple times. So, that just set a negative trajectory, and we’re fighting uphill the rest of the way.”

The Steelers rank 18th with 115.8 rushing yards allowed per game after Thursday. The issue contributed to their other loss when Kenneth Walker collected 105 rushing yards on 13 carries for the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2.

Pittsburgh’s defense wasted a four-touchdown outing from Aaron Rodgers and Jaylen Warren’s season-high 127 rushing yards, squandering a golden opportunity to gain more ground in the AFC North.

“As a defense, we got to own it. As a D-line, that run game is a big blemish on our group right now,” Heyward said. “Your offense gives you 30 points, you should feel good that you can win a game. But as a defense, we got to pride ourselves on stopping the run, and we did not do that. That’s unacceptable.”

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