Why is the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense so bad to start the 2025 NFL season? Shouldn’t they contend for the top spot in the league? Or be a top-10 defense at worst? Well, the Steelers seem to have found a way for the worst to be much worse than we thought.
The Steelers gave up 299 yards on the ground through the first two games (and four rushing touchdowns). It took until the fourth game of last year before the Steelers allowed 299 yards rushing in total. They’ve also allowed 450 passing yards and three passing touchdowns. For all the expectations on this defense, 2025 is a disaster so far.
Analyst Bucky Brooks called it “one of the biggest surprises of the young season” so far in his Scout’s Notebook for NFL.com on Friday. He chalks it up primarily to two things: injuries and scheme tweaks. We know the Steelers have been banged up in the secondary. But Brooks highlighted a renewed focus on blitzing, combined with playing more man-to-man, leading to big plays.
“Throw in a subtle schematic shift to feature more man-to-man coverage this season, and you get a better sense as to why the Steelers have given up more explosive plays than we are accustomed to seeing in Pittsburgh’s back end,” Brooks wrote. “Austin aspires to field a lockdown unit that takes away easy throws with sticky coverage, but miscommunication on potential switches has resulted in more big plays down the field.”
According to our very own Alex Kozora, no team is giving up more plays of 15-plus yards than the Steelers. They’ve given up 22 such plays through two weeks. That’s four more than the two closest teams, the New England Patriots and the New York Giants.
We saw the Steelers get burned by the same play concept in back-to-back games. Both times, they gave up long touchdowns. They’ve given up other big plays, too. That includes a late one in the loss to the Seattle Seahawks last Sunday to help the Seahawks ice the game. However, it’s not just the pass defense giving up big plays.
The Steelers’ run defense is culpable, too. Opponents ran for 299 yards over the first two games of the season against the Steelers, and 160 of those yards came on 10 carries.
Of the #Steelers‘ 299 rush yards allowed through two games, 160 of them have come on 10 explosive runs of 10 or more yards.
Explosive:
10 attempts, 160 yards (16 avg.)The Rest:
58 attempts, 139 yards (2.4 avg.)Run defense has been feast or famine with way too much feasting.
— Ross McCorkle (@Ross_McCorkle) September 15, 2025
Overall, the once-proud Steelers’ defense is in shambles. But Bucky Brooks doesn’t think that will last.
“The Steelers’ collection of talented and experienced playmakers at multiple levels makes me think this is a temporary blip,” Brooks wrote. “I can’t imagine the defense will continue to play this poorly, especially once some of the injured players return to action. With more reps and in-game experience, the chemistry, communication and superior ability will eventually click and result in the kind of imposing defense we’ve long associated with the Steel City.”
The Steelers have too much talent defensively to be this bad over the course of the season. But the first two weeks have been terrible. If the Steelers want to win a playoff game this year, and they do, they’ll need to get the defense right and fast. And Brooks believes they will get it right, eventually.
