Two weeks into the 2025-26 campaign, the Pittsburgh Steelers are still sorting out who they are as a team. That lack of identity is surprising to some, especially considering their reliable defense has been anything but that so far.
As Week 3’s contest against the New England Patriots approaches, one prominent analyst dropped a graphic that adds even more drama to the equation. In a September 17 tweet, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky tied the struggles to all-world linebacker T.J. Watt.
Not in a bad way for Watt, though. He’s holding up his end of the bargain.
Steelers’ Run Defense Issues Related to T.J. Watt?
Orlovsky’s post reveals that on 13 rush attempts to Watt’s side of the field, Steelers opponents have averaged a measly 2.5 yards per carry. On 34 rushes away from Watt — a much larger sample size — that number rises to an even 6.0. Considering 96% of Watt’s 103 snaps are lined up left of the opposing center, that’s a problematic data set.
Watt has always been a stellar run-stuffer for his position. Through two weeks, his 90.5 Pro Football Focus run defense grade leads all designated edge players. He’s gone over the 90.0 mark two other times in his illustrious career, including last season. He’s the heart and soul of the defense, as evidenced by the lucrative contract extension he got this offseason.
Like many superstars, Watt isn’t going to sway from his pre-snap alignment often. Last year, he was almost exclusively on that left side. The same rang true in 2023 and for several years prior. For better or worse, he’s holding down the end of the defensive front and playing disciplined, high-quality run defense.
It’s the rest of Pittsburgh that needs to step up.
Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin Not Worried
Entering Week 3, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin’s unit ranks dead last in opposing rushing attempts, meaning they’ve faced the most. On those tries, the Steelers have surrendered the fifth-most yards. Week 1 saw New York Jets running back Breece Hall rack up 107 yards on 19 tries, then Week 2 featured Seattle Seahawks standout Kenneth Walker III amass 105 yards on just 13 carries.
Speaking to the media this week, Austin didn’t buy into the Watt-related correlation. He does, however, believe the run defense has to be better.
“No, I don’t have a reaction to it,” Austin said. “I think that’s sometimes some choice things. People run that way. They’ll run away from T.J. When you have stretch teams and teams that do that stuff, a lot of zone, you take a risk when you run at 90 because sometimes he’ll play it straight, sometimes he’ll come inside, and he’s able to give you some tackle for loss stuff that’s a little bit unpredictable.
“I think when you run the other way, they’re looking more not so much to run at head, but to cut back, to see if there’s a lane on the back side. We’ve just got to shore up our things. I don’t look at it as one side or the other. As I look at it, we’ve got to shore up our run defense period. It goes back to what I said earlier, we’ve just got to quit beating ourselves before the ball is ever snapped.”
With Sunday’s game on the horizon, Pittsburgh ranks 24th in EPA/rush allowed on defense per SumerSports. Luckily for them, the Patriots aren’t much better on offense (19th).
