When looking at the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2023 season to date, there are several superlatives that stick out. The current state of the offense doing a disappearing act for the first three quarters to come alive in the fourth quarter is one that has grabbed headlines as well as the splash play provided by OLB T.J. Watt on defense and WR George Pickens on offense.
Another storyline that sets the scene for Pittsburgh’s season thus far is the current state of their run defense, having bled yards to opposing running backs to start the 2023 campaign. The Steelers are currently allowing 142.3 yards per game on the ground through six games this season, coming out to a 17-game pace of 2,419 yards allowed on the ground this season. According to Stathead, that would rank as Pittsburgh’s second-worst performance against the run since the merger, having only the 2021 team yield more yards on the ground (2,483).
The Steelers have allowed 854 yards on the ground this season, ranking 28th in the league. However, two plays make up 134 of those yards with 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey ripping off a 65-yard TD run in Week One and Browns RB Jerome Ford breaking off a 69-yard run the following week, falling just short of the goal line. While that may be the case, Pittsburgh has surrendered numerous 10+ yard runs over the first six weeks, allowing opposing offenses to stay ahead of schedule and play ahead of the chains as they chew up the clock.
One big reason for Pittsburgh’s struggles is the loss of DL Cameron Heyward to IR after getting injured early in Week One with a groin injury he had to have surgery for. His absence has been felt on the defensive line as he is a stout run defender, being able to use his strength and power at the point of attack to control gaps and drive back centers and guards into the backfield, helping clog up opposing running lanes. Guys like DL Montravius Adams, Larry Ogunjobi, and Keeanu Benton have held their own with Heyward out of the lineup. But his absence is going to affect Pittsburgh’s ability to establish control at the line of scrimmage on the defensive side of the football, as Pittsburgh’s defensive line is better than the 2021 unit that bled yards on a weekly basis, but still currently lacks that All-Pro player upfront.
The Steelers have vastly improved their linebacker corps from two years ago as the combination of Devin Bush and Joe Schobert wasn’t getting it done in the middle against the run. ILBs Cole Holcomb, Elandon Roberts, and Kwon Alexander have played better, but it’s still a combination of the linebacking corps and the defensive line playing off each other, taking care of their assignments and properly filling gaps to prevent big runs from getting to the second level of the defense. The defensive backs also deserve plenty of the blame as there have been numerous missed tackles in the secondary. CBs Patrick Peterson and Joey Porter Jr. lead the way in missed tackle percentage according to our very own Josh Carney with the Steelers currently averaging 8.33 missed tackles per game.
The Steelers need Heyward back in the worst way to help improve this run defense as their schedule doesn’t get any easier down the stretch. Pittsburgh will face a host of talented runners in the coming weeks including Jaguars RB Travis Etienne who is off to a hot start this season. Etienne is looking to score multiple rushing scores in four-straight games this coming Sunday, a feat not done since HOF RB LaDainian Tomlinson accomplished it in 2006. After Etienne, the Steelers will face Titans RB Derrick Henry who has been atop of the league in rushing for multiple seasons now, bringing a blend of size and explosiveness to the table as a thoroughbred workhorse back.
Pittsburgh is also looking to face the likes of Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon of the Packers, Joe Mixon of the Bengals, Jonathan Taylor and Zach Moss of the Colts, Kenneth Walker of the Seahawks, and former Steelers RB James Connor of the Cardinals should he come off of IR in time for their matchup on December 3rd. That shapes up to be no easy task of backs to stop, but Pittsburgh has shown that they can keep a lid on Pro-Bowl caliber running backs already this season. They held Raiders RB Josh Jacobs to 62 yards on 17 carries after Jacobs led the league in rushing last season.
With Heyward projected to come back in the coming weeks after Pittsburgh opened his 21-day practice window this week, they should be getting some much-needed reinforcements. However, it’s going to take more than just Heyward to significantly improve this run defense. The play upfront needs to be better by the front seven to limit runners from getting into the second level and the tackling needs to improve across the board. It all starts with stopping Etienne on Sunday, limiting one of the best runners in the league this season to kick-start the turnaround this unit needs.
