The Pittsburgh Steelers were able to escape MetLife Stadium with a narrow victory over the New York Jets on Sunday. Pittsburgh won the game 34-32, and the defense seemed to be the biggest issue for the Steelers, which is something that was not expected. The offense moved the ball without many issues, and the unit was able to consistently find the end zone, but the defense struggled to get any sort of stop. The Jets didn't punt the ball once during the first half of the contest, which is not something that is supposed to happen while playing the highest-paid defense in the NFL.
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Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin during 2025 training camp in Latrobe, PA.
Pittsburgh is happy to begin the season 1-0, but the defense needs to play better moving forward. There are many better offenses in the league than the Jets, so the defense could be a major issue if the unit continues to play the way that it did on Sunday.
There was only one turnover in the game and it came on special teams, but the defense for Pittsburgh found it difficult to make life uncomfortable for New York. Inside linebacker Patrick Queen spoke to the media after the game, and he was extremely critical of his defense.
Patrick Queen: "We (defense) played like shit. I am not going to sugarcoat it, we played like shit and if we keep playing like that, we are going to get our face mashed in. It's that simple. I call it like it is, and we played like absolute trash."
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) September 7, 2025
Queen was honest, and the rest of the defense probably feels the same way after their performance against New York. The standard is high for the defensive side of the ball in Pittsburgh, especially with it being the highest-paid in the league, and the unit did not play anywhere close to its potential in the season opener.
Alysa Rubin / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' Patrick Queen hits Justin Fields during a win over the New York Jets in Week 1 of the 2025 season.
Pittsburgh could not stop New York as the defense gave up 32 points, and there wasn't really a scenario where Pittsburgh's offense set up the defense in a tough spot. The Jets were consistently able to move the ball down the field, both on the ground and through the air. New York won the time of possession battle by nearly 10 whole minutes, and the Jets were able to put up 394 total yards in the contest.
The Steelers ended the 2024 season with a bad taste in their mouth. They were eliminated in the playoffs after allowing the Baltimore Ravens to rush for nearly 300 yards in the Wild Card Round, and there was a heavy emphasis to fix the run defense going into 2025. Pittsburgh made some changes, but the issue remains. The Steelers gave up 182 yards on the ground, which is something that cannot happen, especially against the better teams in the league.
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Steelers rookie defensive lineman Derrick Harmon (99) during 2025 training camp in Latrobe, PA.
Steelers Still Awaiting Important Piece Of The Defense
Pittsburgh went into the 2025 offseason with a focus on fixing the run defense, and the organization attempted to do that by injecting some youth into the defensive line. Pittsburgh spent its first round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft on Derrick Harmon, who is expected to be a player that can make an immediate impact in both the run and the pass. He sprained his MCL in the preseason finale against the Carolina Panthers. Thankfully the knee injury is not too serious, but he is going to miss some time to begin the year.
Hopefully the run defense improves as the season moves along and Harmon comes into the fold once he is back to full health, but the defense needs to play better in Week 2 in order to feel better about what the Steelers can achieve in 2025.
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