Through the first two weeks of the 2023 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers defense has struggled to stop the run.
Granted, it’s come against two of the best rushing attacks in football in San Francisco and Cleveland, led by elite running backs Christian McCaffrey and Nick Chubb, but it’s a glaring issue for the Steelers once again.
It won’t get any easier on Sunday Night Football in Las Vegas against Raiders standout running back Josh Jacobs.
Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin expects teams to continue to run against the Steelers until the defense shows it can stop the run.
“Right now, we’re not playing the run very well, so I expect every team we play, until we show that we can stop the run, to come in and run the ball against us,” Austin said to reporters Thursday, according to video via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Chris Adamski on Twitter. “And so, until we do a good job in terms of stopping the run and doing those things, I anticipate teams running. They [Raiders] have a heck of a back. We know what he is, so it’s up to us to make sure we get that stop.”
In the first two games of the season, Pittsburgh has allowed 386 rushing yards to the 49ers and Browns, giving up two 100-plus yard games in the process to McCaffrey (165 yards) and Cleveland’s Jerome Ford (106 yards), who came on in relief after Chubb’s devastating injury and ripped off a 69-yard run.
Not only are the Steelers struggling to stop the run consistently, they are giving up triple-explosive splash plays on the ground, allowing a 65-yard run to McCaffrey and the 69-yarder to Ford.
Pittsburgh is also allowing 5.6 yards per carry, worst in the league, and allowing the most rushing yards in the league through two weeks, too.
It doesn’t help that star defensive lineman Cameron Heyward is out of the lineup after having surgery on a groin injury he suffered in Week One against the 49ers, but even when he was healthy Pittsburgh wasn’t stopping the run. Despite having so much depth on the defensive line, players like Isaiahh Loudermilk and Montravius Adams are getting pushed around against the run, while new linebacker additions in Cole Holcomb, Kwon Alexander and Elandon Roberts have struggled against the run at times.
Moving forward, things aren’t going to change against the Steelers. Teams see the success had on the ground against Pittsburgh’s defense, so they’re going to run the football until the Steelers prove they can stop the run — if they can stop the run. They’ve got to get better at it, and fast. It’s uncharted waters for the Steelers being the worst run defense in football.
