Much has been said about the current state of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense and their woes to start the 2023 season. While the criticism is warranted as their offense is one of the worst in football, the defense hasn’t exactly been the dominant unit that we have been accustomed to seeing from the Black and Gold either.
Former offensive lineman and co-host of GMFB Shaun O’Hara said as much on a segment of today’s episode, stating that this defense doesn’t quite resemble the Steelers’ defenses of old.
“I think when you look at this Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense, this is not your daddy’s Steelers’ defense,” O’Hara said on video from GMFB’s Twitter page. “They have been porous. Like no Steel Curtain here. It’s more like aluminum foil.”
When you look at the counting stats of Pittsburgh’s defense, you see two very different viewpoints. From a points allowed perspective, Pittsburgh is sitting near the middle of the pack, ranking 18th in the league in total points allowed. However, from a yardage standpoint, Pittsburgh is well below the bar, ranking 30th in the league in total yards allowed while sitting 24th in the NFL against the pass and 27th in the NFL against the run according to Pro Football Reference.
Pittsburgh has taken on the identity of a “bend but don’t break defense.” They are giving up yards in bunches, surrendering 137 rushing yards per game while seeing the opposing team’s top wideout have his way with them in coverage, having the likes of Brandon Aiyuk, Nico Collins, Davante Adams, and Puka Nacua go off, abusing veteran CBs Levi Wallace and Patrick Peterson in the secondary.
To Pittsburgh’s credit, they have done a good job of stopping the bleeding, keeping drives from getting into the end zone via key third down stops or by the defense producing takeaways. Still, head coach Mike Tomlin has mentioned in the Jacksonville game that the turnovers made in that contest weren’t the ones to set up the offense to go score, but rather ones to stop the bleeding and keep the opponent from getting on the scoreboard.
Pittsburgh’s defense has come up with splash plays this year, having OLBs T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith come up with plays that have turned the tide of games into Pittsburgh’s favor. However, this defense isn’t what it used to be in terms of keep opponent’s total yardage down, as well as preventing getting blown out on occasion when the offense fails to show up. With Cameron Heyward coming back, hopefully this defense can get back to what we’ve seen out of them in the past, playing like a unit that can keep opposing offenses from driving the field while also generating the splash plays.
