4 takeaways from Steelers embarrassing tie vs Lions
By Tommy Jaggi
Steelers run defense was a major issue
The Pittsburgh Steelers showed us what we feared to be the case: that their defense is good, but not great. This was on full display against one of the worst offenses in the league this week.
In terms of pass defense, Keith Butler’s unit was on point. Joe Haden nearly gave up a big pass down the field early in the game, but the Steelers allowed just 92 passing yards to Jared Goff in regulation and overtime and sacked him 4 times on just 25 pass attempts.
The run defense was a different story, however. In the first half of the game, Pittsburgh surrendered 114 yards on the ground (7.1 yards per carry). This awful attempt to take down the running back continued into the third quarter.
Though the Steelers eventually tightened things up against the run, they ultimately allowed 229 rushing yards (5.9 yards per attempt) and 2 touchdowns on the ground, via ESPN. This contributed to the lack of control Pittsburgh had in this contest.