To put it mildly, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense did not live up to expectations in the season opener. The highest-paid defense in the league was effectively routed by Justin Fields and the Jets. Only Aaron Rodgers' crisp play bailed them out on the scoreboard.
Steelers fans are understandably frustrated to see the defense give up 32 points to a team that averaged just 19.9 points per game a season ago to prop up a 6-10 record. The Jets certainly aren’t the same team they were in 2024, and credit goes to new head coach Aaron Glenn for quickly establishing a new identity and competitiveness for the franchise.
That identity, of course, comes through the running game. It was no secret that the Jets were going to arrogantly run the football, and yet the Steelers showed up to MetLife with an ineffective plan to stop it.
Jets’ rushing attack drew the map for everyone else against Pittsburgh Steelers' defense
The Jets rushed for 182 yards on Sunday, averaging 4.7 yards per carry. Most of that came via Breece Hall, who eclipsed the 100-yard mark on the day, primarily running to just one side, the left side. Check out the chart of his runs from NFL Next Gen Stats.
Wow, a LOT of running to the left side of the OL for #Jets RB Breece Hall Sunday.
— Josh Carney (@ByJoshCarney) September 7, 2025
That means right at Alex Highsmith and Cam Heyward, among others. Running away from T.J. Watt (smart). pic.twitter.com/jEad8csElJ
Either the Jets were avoiding their weakness on the right side of their offensive line, which included a backup right guard and rookie right tackle, while avoiding the Steelers' strength, T.J. Watt, or they exploited a weakness in the Steelers' defensive front while favoring their strengths on the left side. On most plays, Alex Highsmith and Cam Heyward line up on that side of the center.
It’s no secret to anyone who watched the game that the Steelers' defensive front did not play well. Linebacker Patrick Queen was fairly emphatic in his admission of the fact. But Steelers fans would expect that Highsmith and Heyward, two great run defenders, would be able to shut down these left-side runs. They weren’t alone in the struggles, of course. Isaiahh Loudermilk, Yahya Black, and the linebackers share a significant portion of the blame for the performance.
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Excluding Monday night, the Steelers allowed the fourth-most rushing yards in Week 1. The Steelers were sixth in run defense last year. It’s inexplicable that a team that only made upgrades on defense would see such a decline over the offseason.
It’s an issue the Steelers cannot afford to allow to persist. Case in point, the Baltimore Ravens racked up 238 yards on the ground on Sunday night. While Pittsburgh has quite the wait until they face Lamar Jackson and company, after watching the Steelers earlier in the day, the impending doom of facing the Ravens' rushing attack was all Steelers fans could imagine while Derrick Henry ran all over the Buffalo Bills until his late fumble.
But it’s not just Baltimore the Steelers have to worry about. Next week, the Steelers host the Seattle Seahawks, who, yes, struggled to run the ball against San Francisco, but had over 500 yards of rushing in the preseason as new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak tries to establish a new identity for his offense. Even after Seattle’s Week 1 struggles, they still have to feel confident about walking into Acrisure Stadium for another chance to establish their rushing attack after seeing what the Jets pulled off.
Hopefully, being dominated by the Jets in the season opener will give the defense a kick in the pants to get back to form. There is simply too much star power and money invested in the Steelers’ defense to have repeat performances of what fans were subjected to in Week 1.