The Pittsburgh Steelers allowed no more than 10 points in each of their first three games of the 2024 season. Over their final five games, they allowed no fewer than 28 points four times. In fact, after the bye week, they allowed 24 or more points in seven out of 10 games. They allowed over 300 yards in each of their final nine and over 400 in three of their final five.
That is not the defense the Steelers signed up for, nor the defense for which they’re paying top dollar. They have the highest-paid defense in the league and are projected to match that in 2025. Steelers president Art Rooney II knows they can’t continue to get these results, regardless of the price tag.
“No question. It starts with stopping the run, and we didn’t do that. That’s not Steelers football”, Rooney said during an interview with Bob Pompeani on KDKA. He was responding to a question about whether the performance of the Steelers’ defense was a disappointment. In their playoff loss, they allowed 300 rushing yards to the Baltimore Ravens, minus a yard lost on the final kneeldown.
One area in particular Rooney specified was the defensive line. “We probably need to get a little younger there, even though [Cameron Heyward] had a great year, and God bless him, he’s coming back for another year”, the Steelers’ president said. “We’re fortunate to have him. But we may need to love to have some young blood on that defensive line this coming year”.
Until the Steelers stumble onto another franchise quarterback, they will need an elite defense to carry them. While they certainly have playmakers like Heyward, T.J. Watt, and Minkah Fitzpatrick, recent years have provided a stark reminder that they can’t count on consistent splash.
What they need is consistent performance, cohesion, communication, and discipline. During the Steelers’ extended losing streak, they lost many of those things and never fully regained them. How do they get them back—especially without any major coaching changes?
The Steelers did change defensive “quarterbacks”, with Patrick Queen stepping into that role in 2024. Signed as an unrestricted free agent, he was also new to the role of the green dot. One would hope there will be natural growth with another year in Pittsburgh and in that role. But that’s only one aspect of the communication chain, even if it is a big one.
While the Steelers created splash plays, leading the league in takeaways, it simply wasn’t enough. Without a defense capable of consistently taking advantage of those opportunities, those turnovers often merely replaced punts.
And the real issue is what the Steelers did on defense when they weren’t taking the ball away. They barely ranked in the middle of the pack regarding yards allowed per drive. Until the offense is ready to shoulder a bigger portion of the load, they simply need better from the defense.
