For many fans hoping to see improvements to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ run defense after the 299-yard nightmare against the Baltimore Ravens in the playoffs last season, their Week 1 performance offered little reassurance. To defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, the two games feel nothing alike.
“I know how I felt coming off that field in Baltimore last year and I didn’t feel the same way this year,” Austin said via 93.7 The Fan on X. “I feel good with our group. I feel good that they’ll rebound, and we’ll play better.”
If it felt like the same run defense as last year, that’s because it was. The Week 1 personnel was largely the same, or even a little worse, than in the playoff loss last year. Cam Heyward, Keeanu Benton, and Isaiahh Loudermilk were the starting three. The Steelers haven’t fully tapped into their new talent yet.
Yahya Black played just 24 snaps on defense and, of course, first-round rookie Derrick Harmon was unavailable with a knee injury suffered during the preseason. Harmon should be back in the next week or two and Austin already revealed that Black is likely to have a bigger role in Week 2.
It wasn’t flawless for the fifth-round pick against the Jets—missed tackles stood out—but his ability to win at the point of attack and disrupt blocks was promising. Snap for snap, he may have been the Steelers’ best defensive lineman last Sunday.
Critics are understandably going to take a skeptical posture toward the run defense until the Steelers can prove it on the field. But Teryl Austin’s optimism isn’t completely misplaced. There is too much talent on this defense to be as bad as it was at the end of the 2024 season.
Cam Heyward said that “redemption Sunday” is coming fast for the defense. It has a great opportunity to do that in Week 2 at home against the Seattle Seahawks. QB Sam Darnold led their offense to just 230 total yards last Sunday, including 84 on the ground.
For now, the Steelers’ run defense is still carrying the weight of its playoff collapse. But with young reinforcements on the way and a favorable matchup in Week 2, that group won’t have to wait long to show whether this year really will be different.