Steelers Now
Now that we have the Pittsburgh Steelers’ entire 2025 schedule, it’s worth assessing their toughest tests from a defensive standpoint. Obviously, if this team is going to make any noise whatsoever this fall, it’s going to be thanks to their defense returning to dominant form. But as we know, the modern NFL is an offense-first league. The best offenses are usually championed by the most talented quarterbacks. It’s why those guys cost a pretty penny.
Today, we’re going to be ranking the top passers on their schedule: what makes those individual players so difficult to defend, their history versus Pittsburgh, and some best practices to contain them. These matchups will be a good barometer for defining just how stout the Steelers’ pass defense truly is. It’s certainly a very talented crop of signal callers on the docket, but on the bright side, they won’t have to face the two-time MVP Patrick Mahomes in the regular season. But some other familiar faces are on the horizon.
After a blazing finish that ignited a postseason run to conclude 2023, Love wasn’t quite able to take that next step for a myriad of reasons. He’s one of the most creative throwers that we have in the league, thanks to supreme arm talent that gives him the ability to change arm angles and make daring off-platform throws look routine. Even dating back to his college days, he’s always been endlessly fearless in terms of pushing the ball down the field and into tight windows, while also improving his decision-making. He’s a savvy pocket maneuverer that can minimize negative plays and punish defenses for their shortcomings in that regard.
Jordan Love backside laser pic.twitter.com/dui237jKjL
— Derrick (@Steelers_DB) January 9, 2024
With him still relatively inexperienced due to sitting behind Aaron Rodgers for a while and playing in the NFC North, Mike Tomlin’s crew has only faced off with the Nevada product once in his career, with the Steelers coming out on top. Because of his unorthodox playing style, his accuracy can be a bit scattershot, leading to some takeaway chances. That’s where Pittsburgh should look to capitalize. Green Bay’s offense surrounds him with quality players, but it remains to be seen if Matthew Golden can become the go-to guy they’ve been missing versus man coverage.
The lack of postseason success is the primary thing keeping Herbert out of the league’s elite tier of quarterbacks. He’s got a bazooka for an arm that gives him the capacity to drill a ball through a keyhole and throw his receivers open, but it’s the finer aspects of his game that make him such a consistent force. From a mechanics perspective, his entire operation is extremely clean, with him essentially operating as a supercomputer-level processor that rarely makes mistakes. He dices up zone coverage by manipulating defenders with his eyes, and there’s no one better at hitting the hole shots versus cover-2....
