Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers defense continues to fall well short of their “historic” expectations.
Green Bay took down the Steelers, 35-25, on Sunday night at Acrisure Stadium. It marks the fourth time in seven games that the Steelers have allowed 30+.
The Packers scored on all five of their possessions in the second half. Green Bay had three straight touchdown drives to open the second half.
At one point in the second half, Jordan Love completed 20 straight passes, tying a franchise record with Brett Favre (set in 2007). Love finishes 29 of 37 for 360 with three touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 134.2.
The Steelers had no answer for tight end Tucker Kraft. The big tight end out of South Dakota State recorded seven receptions for 143 yards (20.4 average) and two touchdowns.
The Steelers have stars at every level of their defense, and that had head coach Mike Tomlin believing the group can be very special in 2025. That certainly hasn’t been the case for the highest-paid defense in the NFL.
“We feel really good about the prospects of this group. We do,” Tomlin told the DVE Morning Show in August. “We’ve got to write that story. We’ve got enough talent, we’ve got enough schematics to do big, big things. When I say big things, I’m talking about historic things.”
Pittsburgh added some very intriguing players to the group this offseason. Most notable veteran cornerback Darius Slay in free agency and All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey via a trade with the Miami Dolphins.
Slay certainly hasn’t lived up to expectations. Ramsey has been solid at times, but he’s not the same player that he used to be.
Outside linebacker T.J. Watt and defensive tackle Cam Heyward are also not living up to their enormous contracts. The same can be said for linebacker Patrick Queen.
The defense is also not getting takeaways. They’ve been shut out in that department in three straight games.
To make matters worse, Steelers strong safety DeShon Elliott was carted off with an injury on Sunday night. He was ruled out for the remainder of the game. Losing Elliott for an extensive period would be a big loss for the reeling defense.
Things won’t get easier for the defense, either. They’ll get the 7-1 Indianapolis Colts and MVP candidate Jonathan Taylor next Sunday. Taylor has three scrimmage touchdowns in four of his eight games this season.
The Colts rank first in total offense and are No. 1 in scoring offense.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers’ Highest-Paid Defense Has Not Delivered in 2025
