Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers defense is making history for all of the wrong reasons.
The Pittsburgh Steelers entered the 2025 season with the belief that they could have an historic defense. Through the first eight weeks of the season, that has been true, but not for the reasons they imagined.
The Steelers’ 35-25 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football was the first time they lost a game by 10+ points that they led entering the fourth quarter since 1996 against the Houston Oilers, according to Brooke Pryor of ESPN. It was also the first time Pittsburgh lost a home game by 10+ points that it led entering the fourth quarter since 1985.
From ESPN Research: This is the first time PIT lost a game by 10+ points that it led entering the 4th quarter since 1996 at the Oilers.
It's also the first time PIT lost a home game by 10+ points that it led entering the 4th quarter since 1985.
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) October 27, 2025
It’s quite a disappointing start for the Steelers unit, which was further invested into during the offseason after already being the league’s highest-paid unit.
Pittsburgh signed veteran cornerback Darius Slay in free agency, but he has struggled with just 27 tackles, one fumble recovery and three passes defensed on the year.
The team then used its first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft on defensive tackle Derrick Harmon. He has just two tackles in the loss.
The Steelers also added over $3 million in incentives to long-time team captain Cameron Heyward’s contract after he held out for much of the offseason. He finished the game with seven tackles.
This isn’t to say Pittsburgh’s second straight loss is on the shoulders of any one player, but it certainly adds to the fact that its defense is nowhere near playing to the level that many people thought it would in 2025.
“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.”
To make matters worse, Steelers strong safety DeShon Elliott was carted off with an injury on Sunday night and was ruled out for the remainder of the game. Losing Elliott for an extensive period would be a big loss for Pittsburgh’s struggling defense.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Make More Unfortunate History vs. Packers
