'We played like trash… like (crap)' — Steelers’ defense sputters … until it mattered most

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Despite a bevy of new faces and some bold proclamations that the unit could be elite this season, for much of the 2025 opener the Pittsburgh Steelers defense was much too like the one that ended the 2024 campaign.

Which is to say, not good.

“We just played like (crap). That’s the simplest way I can say it,” linebacker Patrick Queen said of the defense following a 34-32 victory against the New York Jets. “I ain’t no sugar-coater; we played like (crap).

“And if we keep playing like that, we’re going to get our face bashed. It’s that simple. I don’t, I don’t have to sugarcoat. I call it how it is. We played like absolute trash.”

The 32 points, 394 total yards and 182 rushing yards illustrate Queen’s point. It was an inauspicious debut for a new-look defense that added several high-profile pieces over the offseason after an embarrassing end to the 2024 season that included five consecutive losses (including playoffs) and allowed 157.4 rushing yards per game during that skid.

But a funny thing happened amongst all the “(crap)” and “trash “the Steelers’ defense was putting on display Sunday.

The unit played its best when it was needed the most.

After the Jets scored on six of their first seven (non end-of-half) possessions, the final two times it had the ball — with the game on the line — the Steelers got stops.

“Do I like how we played? Do I like our inability to stop the run?” coach Mike Tomlin said, rhetorically, “No — but I love our mindset. Because our mindset shows that we were game for the fight… We were playing and playing to win. And when you do those things, man, you got enough gas in the tank to finish it at the end.”

Over the final 5 minutes and 21 seconds of the game, New York twice took over in its own territory in a one-possession game. The Steelers did not allow a first down in either circumstance — the Jets going three-and-out and punting when taking over the first time and then going four-and-out in a last-gasp effort when down two points with the ball at their own 31 yard-line with 1:03 to play.

“Just made an adjustment on that drive,” Queen said of the final possession, “(and) got some stops right there. That was huge for the team.

“I think it just comes down to the basic fundamentals: gap assignment, being physical, just the smaller things,” Queen added, saying he expected the defense to work on its flaws over the ensuing week of practice.

After all, it feels much better to learn and improve after moving to 1-0 than after absorbing a loss.

“Yeah, definitely,” Queen said. “I’ll take a win all day.