Through the first two games of the Pittsburgh Steelers' 2025 season, their proud identity as a defensive powerhouse looked to be in danger. The New York Jets put up 32 points and nearly 400 yards against them in Week 1, and the Seahawks moved the ball with ease against them in Week 2.
Many fans and analysts (including myself, to be fair) wondered if age and years of carrying the team to wins had finally caught up with them. They added plenty of new talent to help aging stars T.J. Watt and Cameron Heyward, but many of those new faces were older players themselves.
Now five games into the season, the Steelers sit at 4-1 and have won their last three games, allowing just 14.7 points per game over that stretch. They have forced 10 turnovers, tied for third in the NFL despite having only played five games compared to most teams' six. Maybe most importantly, they are tied for second in sacks with 20 despite only managing three sacks in their first two games.
They punctuated their resurgence this week by dominating the lowly Cleveland Browns from start to finish, allowing just nine points and sacking rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel six times.
With the offense slowly but surely rounding into form over that stretch as well, the rest of the NFL may need to start taking this year's Steelers more seriously than they would have ever expected.
Pittsburgh Steelers' defensive turnaround puts the rest of the NFL on notice
The Steelers have been agonizingly average for what feels like a decade, never bottoming out but also never really challenging the rest of the AFC's top teams. This year's squad seemed to be on that same path early in the season, albeit a more offense-focused version.
Luckily, that no longer looks to be the case. T.J. Watt has rebounded from an uncharacteristically quiet start, the secondary has gotten healthier, and young players like Nick Herbig and Derrick Harmon have added a new dimension to the pass rush that has made a huge difference.
Now that the defense is starting to round into form, the potential heights they could reach are different than any recent seasons. Aaron Rodgers may not be the quarterback he was five years ago, but it's already clear through five games that he is the best option Pittsburgh has had since before Ben Roethlisberger retired.
With the rest of the AFC North completely falling apart, they seem highly likely to play their first home playoff game since the 2020 season. That alone will give them a great opportunity to finally end their six-game playoff losing streak, but this roster is also their most balanced in quite some time.
Their toughest challenges this season are yet to come, but the rest of the NFL should be wary of what Pittsburgh is capable of.