Steelers' run defense hits new low in loss to Joe Mixon's Bengals

CINCINNATI — Proud of his status as the defense’s captain and well aware of the tradition of stellar defenses for the only pro franchise he’s played for, Cameron Heyward spoke solemnly throughout a 5-minute postgame news conference Sunday.

His team had just allowed 41 points for the second consecutive game. It has permitted 586 rushing yards over a three-game winless streak. To Heyward, acknowledging “we got our tails kicked,” though, wasn’t enough.

“There’s a level of respect and tradition when you put on that Steelers uniform,” Heyward said after a 41-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. “That means getting off blocks and stopping the run. And we did not do that today.”

Cincinnati ran up 198 rushing yards a week after the Steelers gave up 159 on the ground to the Los Angeles Chargers and two weeks following the winless Detroit Lions rushing for 229 in a tie at Heinz Field.

“We sucked out there. We didn’t get the job done.”
—Cameron Heyward pic.twitter.com/M0gcZ9TXjY

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) November 28, 2021

It’s one of the worst three-game stretches the Steelers have had in recent decades in regards to run defense.

In two of those games, an opposing running back had a career-high in rushing yards. Sunday, it was five-year veteran Joe Mixon who had 165 and a touchdown against the Steelers. Mixon was so effective early that Bengals coach Zac Taylor said it compelled him to change their offensive gameplan. Mixon had 49 yards during the first drive of the game (it ended in a Cincinnati touchdown) and 59 on 10 carries in the first quarter.

“Obviously in the first quarter today, if that’s as efficient as it is, you want to keep feeding that guy,” Taylor said of Mixon. “We certainly ran a lot of things off of that. We certainly feel great about the passing game as well. But if it’s not broke, we’re certainly going to keep sticking with it.”

Stick with it the Bengals did, giving Mixon 20 first-half carries for 117 yards before letting their foot off the gas once a four-touchdown lead was attained.

“We got beat up-front on both sides of the ball, and they won the line of scrimmage,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “When you win the line of scrimmage the game has a chance to look like that.”

Speaking specifically about the defense, “We don’t (typically) play football like that, but we have been our last couple weeks, so some adjustments need to be made.”

“We couldn’t stop the run, and that’s been a common theme for way, way too long.”
—TJ Watt pic.twitter.com/qTJhGbyNnI

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) November 28, 2021

For a brief period during the first quarter Sunday, the Steelers benched inside linebacker Devin Bush after Bush was called for an offsides penalty. But Bush was back on the field for the next series. Backup Robert Spillane suffered a knee injury during the first half and did not return.

But for an organization that espouses the motto, “The Standard is The Standard,” personnel isn’t going to be used as an excuse. But in a sign of how bad things have gotten in recent weeks, consider that the 98 points the Steelers (5-5-1) have allowed the past three games nearly match the 101 points they allowed over a seven-game stretch in improving their record to 11-0 by this point last season.

The 586 rushing yards allowed in just three games are much more than half what they allowed over the entire season (1,004) the most recent time they made the Super Bowl (2010).

Joe has set a new career-high for rushing yards in a game with 164 and counting. pic.twitter.com/9RJnRy4Vzz

— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) November 28, 2021

“We were searching for (a spark) the whole game and just couldn’t stop the run,” linebacker T.J. Watt said. “It’s been a common theme for way too long.

“We’re trying to solve it and clearly not doing a good enough job. We have to go back to the film and figure out how to stop this thing.”

The Steelers defense has six games remaining to do that, but it won’t be easy. Four of the six games will feature an opponent that ranks among the top five in the NFL in rushing offense.

“There’s a lot of football to be played,” Heyward said, “but if we do what we did out there today, we won’t win another game.”

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