What’s wrong with the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense?
After surrendering 32 points and 394 total yards to the New York Jets in Week 1, the Steelers put together a nearly identical performance in Week 2, allowing 31 points and 395 yards to the Seattle Seahawks. Pittsburgh was able to overcome that in Week 1’s 34-32 victory thanks to a vintage Aaron Rodgers performance, but he wasn’t able to replicate that during Week 2’s 31-17 loss.
Worse, the Steelers’ defense collapsed late, yielding 17 points in the fourth quarter. They’ve endured back-to-back rough performances to start the season despite facing Justin Fields and Sam Darnold, who have a combined 50-71 record under center in the NFL.
Pittsburgh’s porous defense has been an issue since last season. The Steelers have now allowed over 300 yards in 11 straight games (including playoffs) — the longest streak in the NFL — and 27.9 points per game over that span. They’re 4-7 during that stretch and have had one of the league’s worst units for over half a season now.
That’s despite having the highest-paid defense in the NFL with the likes of T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward, Jalen Ramsey and more. There’s too much talent there for the group to keep playing like this.
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Granted, Pittsburgh’s defense has been dealing with some injuries lately, but Teryl Austin and his coaching staff must find a way to clean up the issues on that side of the ball. It’s early and there’s still plenty of time to make adjustments, but the Steelers must play better defense if they want to win games consistently with their relatively limited offense. At 41, Rodgers is too old to play hero ball every week.
Pittsburgh will try to bounce back on the road in Foxborough in Week 3. The New England Patriots just scored over 30 points in a game for the first time in nearly three years, but Drake Maye can be mistake-prone and doesn’t have many weapons, presenting an enticing matchup for the Steelers.
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Featured image via Barry Reeger/Imagn Images