4 takeaways from Steelers blowout win over the Bengals

Steelers run defense continues to struggle

I’ve got to be honest with you; I didn’t foresee the Steelers run defense struggling so much this season. After allowing 409 combined rushing yards against the Ravens and Cowboys over the past two weeks, Pittsburgh’s defense allowed 6.6 yards per carry and139 yards on the ground to the Bengals in Week 10. This happened despite the return of Tyson Alualu and owning a home-field advantage.

Perhaps some of their struggles came from the Steelers selling out to stop Joe Burrow and the Bengals passing game, but it doesn’t give us a lot of confidence moving forward. Is it a problem with the defensive line? Are the linebackers not filling their lanes? Or is Keith Butler dialing up the wrong plays? It could be a combination of these things.

Additionally, Cincinnati was missing starting running back, Joe Mixon. No matter what the reasoning, it’s hard to be upset when your team wins by 26 points, but this is very unlike the Steelers. Let’s hope they can tighten up this area of their game against better competition, or they will have some big defensive struggles this year.