Last week, the Pittsburgh Steelers defense didn’t bother to show up against the New York Jets until cornerback Jalen Ramsey made a play that sealed the 34-32 win. The entire unit looked completely out of sort but especially in trying to stop the Jets from running the football. This week the Steelers welcome the Seattle Seahawks and as we look at the keys to victory, it’s a lot of the same from last week.
Stop the run
The Seahawks might not have a running quarterabck like Justin Fields but they do have a two-headed rushing attack with Zach Charbonnet and Kenneth Walker III. The Steelers defense got carved up by Field and New York running back Breece Hall so we hope we see some different position groups this week and more physicality.
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Put the heat on Sam Darnold
Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold struggled in his debut last week and he does not offer the dual threat that Fields did. The Steelers pass rush needs this sort of matchup to get out of their slump. We are talking to you, T.J. Watt.
Get off the field
The Jets converted 7-of-14 third-down conversions last week and 1-of-2 fourth-down conversions. Pittsburgh’s defense has to be able to convert on those possession downs instead of allowing the Seahawks to extend drives.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers vs Seahawks: Keys to victory for the Pittsburgh defense