The Pittsburgh Steelers run defense is giving up an average of 142.7 yards per game on the ground thus far in the 2022 season. A season ago, the Steelers finished dead last in the entire league allowing 2,483 yards for an opponent's 5 yards per carry average.
It seems like the defense that felt they could be a top unit in the NFL is having similar issues as it did just a season ago. Yes, it's still early in the season and they are just 1-2 after Thursday's loss to the Cleveland Browns. However, if the team is going to kick it in gear anytime soon, the run defense needs to focus on improving during this mini bye-week.
Credit: Abigail Dean/Pittsburgh Steelers
The black and gold's trend of poor run defense continued on Thursday Night Football. The one-two punch of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt combined for 160 yards on 35 carries on the night. They just controlled the line of scrimmage the entire game. Just ask Steelers strong safety, Terrell Edmunds:
"They dominated the line of scrimmage last night,"said Edmunds via Steelers.com. "That's something that we definitely have to push back. We can't just let guys run down on us. It's something we have to work on, something we have to get better at. We've been singing the same song so we've gotta figure out exactly what we've got to do to get better."
CLEVELAND, OHIO - SEPTEMBER 22: Nick Chubb #24 of the Cleveland Browns rushes ahead of Terrell Edmunds #34 of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the third quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium on September 22, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Edmunds is right! Their same song has been sung for quite a while now. The defense has to find ways to stop the run. That task obviously became a lot more challenging after superstar, team captain, and reigning 2021 NFL AP Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY), TJ Watt, went down for at least the next 4 weeks. Even without Watt in the lineup, every Steelers defender in the locker room knows that this isn't Pittsburgh Steelers football.
Another Steelers defender chimed in about the struggle they had in stopping Chubb and Hunt on Thursday night. There's a lot of work left to do and a lot of season left to change the narrative:
"Going up against two great backs, maybe one of the best duos of backs this league has ever seen," said linebacker, Robert Spillane. "I've got a lot of respect for those guys. We have to do a better job of tackling, getting 11 hats to the ball and making plays. The more we can do that going forward, the more games we will end up winning."
"We need to continue to make plays. Be where we are supposed to be. Tackle. Fly around. Be good teammates to each other. Communicate. I think we've got a lot to work on, a lot to focus on this week. We'll get to it."
Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (39) during a regular season game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022 in Cincinnati, OH. (Karl Roser/Pittsburgh Steelers)
With the Steelers offense continuing to struggle putting up points, the Steelers' defense will absolutely have to be the reason this football team succeeds, just as we all suspected in the off-season. The things is, that just hasn't been the case, yet, especially not on the back of the run defense.
Even in their lone winning performance of the season, the Steelers' run defense still gave up 133 yards on the ground to Joe Mixon and company. The biggest difference in that game that gave the Steelers the chance to win it was the 5 turnovers forced. Top NFL defenses should be sound in every facet of the game, not just attempt to rely on 5 turnovers per game. There's a lot of football left to be played and Edmunds knows things must change:
"We have a lot of games left to play," continued Edmunds. "A lot of get better to do. That is our whole mindset. We are watching film to see what we can do to get better and go week to week and take those steps in the right direction."
Will the Steelers' run defense find a way to turn their biggest weakness around this season or continue to stumble? Sound off in the comment section below, or on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram!
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