After slow start, Steelers' defense sees improvement in stopping the run in back-to-back wins

The biggest issue facing the Pittsburgh Steelers defense last year continued to stand out like a highway construction project in the early weeks of the 2025 season.

The difference was, the Steelers’ run defense wasn’t grinding anybody to a halt.

Memories of that forgettable playoff performance against Baltimore, when the Steelers yielded 299 rushing yards, were conjured when the New York Jets rushed for 182 and the Seattle Seahawks 117 in the first two weeks of the season.

Despite all the offseason changes, with the Steelers swapping out starters at all three levels of the defense and emphasizing run stoppers in their free agent signings and draft strategy, the improvement was negligible.

“We know it’s a long season, but you’re judged every week,” defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said. “One week you can be great. The next week you can stink. Our goal is not to stink every week.”

To Austin’s point, the Steelers’ defense erased some of the early-season stench in victories against New England and Minnesota that lifted their record to 3-1 heading into the bye week.

The Steelers continue to have difficulty defending quarterback mobility, but they have become a stronger unit at keeping running backs in check, providing some optimism when they play AFC North games against Cleveland and Cincinnati coming out of the bye.

In the past two weeks, the Steelers have held Patriots and Vikings running backs to 74 and 58 yards, respectively, which has contributed to the team’s modest two-game winning streak.

Running backs averaged 3.36 and 3.22 yards per carry in those games. By comparison, Jets running backs gained 134 yards and averaged 4.96 yards per carry in the season opener, and the Seahawks back had 117 yards rushing and averaged 4.0 yards per attempt in Week 2.

“There is a standard here,” inside linebacker Patrick Queen, who has totaled 21 tackles the past two weeks. “There is a standard that we weren’t upholding. We wanted to get back to that and get back to having fun again.”

Part of the reason for the improved run defense is the addition of first-round pick Derrick Harmon to the starting lineup. Harmon missed the first two games with a knee injury, and his presence on the defensive line has coincided with the turnaround. Nose tackle Keeanu Benton improved as a run stopper and pass rusher against Minnesota after getting off to a slow start.

The Steelers also are finding some cohesion as players impacted by offseason additions are getting familiar with their roles. Inside linebacker Payton Wilson led the Steelers with 13 tackles against Minnesota, and he has yielded some snaps on early downs to veteran Cole Holcomb, who is shaking off the rust after missing nearly two seasons with a knee injury.

“We’re playing better,” Austin said. “We talk about it and had some things where we were supposed to be (in one place) but weren’t able to finish it for whatever reason. Our guys are starting to make those plays, which I figured we would because we have good enough players that if you help them get into the right spots, they are going to make plays.”

The Steelers elevated Wilson to a full-time starting role after declining to re-sign Elandon Roberts in free agency. After experiencing some early struggles defending the run, he played less than half of the defensive snaps against New England. Holcomb replaced him in run situations.

That temporary demotion, apparently, lit a fuse in Wilson based on the way he was all over the field against the Vikings. He had two tackles for a loss, a quarterback hit and made a game-saving tackle when he ran the length of the field to chase down Jordan Addison at the 1 after an 81-yard completion in the fourth quarter.

“He really flipped the switch on how he’s playing on early downs,” linebackers coach Scott McCurley said. “He’s been working on it in practice, and you saw the carryover into the game. The path, the way he’s taking on blocks, that needs to continue. This past week, it was good to see that come out of him.”

Benton also shed his slow start against the Vikings. He had four tackles, a season high, and had 1 1/2 sacks. It was the type of performance the Steelers were expecting from Benton considering he is entering his third NFL season.

“He’s been solid but not spectacular. He’s been active but hasn’t finished,” Austin said. “This week, he finished, and he was impactful because he finished those plays. I challenged him to stack those games because (he has) the talent to do it. If you can stack games like that, along with the way the rest of the D-line and front seven are playing, that is going to be good for us.”

The biggest offseason change came on the defensive line with the Steelers releasing Larry Ogunjobi and Montravius Adams. They added Harmon and fifth-round pick Yahya Black in the draft and signed Daniel Ekuale to be a veteran backup at nose tackle. Ekuale, in a limited role, has the second-best run defense grade, according to Pro Football Focus. The best run stopper on the Steelers, to no surprise, is Cameron Heyward, who is ranked No. 8 in the subjective PFF grades.

Heyward, Benton and Isaiahh Loudermilk, who is on injured reserve, were the only members of the defensive line who had playing time with the Steelers last season. Five newcomers made the 53-man roster, so some on-the-job training wasn’t unexpected.

“I think it was execution,” defensive line coach Karl Dunbar said about the turnaround. “Our guys did a better job. That was the difference. We watched our big runs and passes, and it wasn’t anything schematically. It was breakdowns in execution, a guy not in his gap, a guy jumping around somebody.

“The more the guys see it on film, the better we’re going to get as the season goes along.”

There remains considerable room for growth. The Steelers continue to rank No. 19 in the NFL by allowing 119 rushing yards per game. They are No. 17 by permitting 4.17 yards per carry.

“We’re getting there,” Austin said. “I know we hadn’t played well early. We’ve got enough good players that things will start trending in the right direction. I think we took a step forward last weekend, absolutely. We also know we left a lot out there and we have a lot of room to improve.”