The Pittsburgh Steelers are currently sitting at 1-1 through two weeks of the 2025 NFL season, and while some are insisting that it is still early and certain things need time to set in, the Week 2 loss to the Seattle Seahawks has raised some red flags. Losing the way the Steelers did in Week 2, an embarrassing special teams gaffe and poor defensive play throughout all levels, has Steeler Nation concerned that major changes might be needed.
Alysa Rubin / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' Mike Tomlin looks on in a Wild Card matchup against the Ravens in 2025.
Considering the Steelers have the highest paid defense for 2025, much of the focus throughout the offseason was on the offensive side of the ball with the defense expected to be amongst the best in the league. Throughout two weeks however, that has not been the case.
Defensively, the Steelers rank in the bottom quarter of the league in most major categories and if it weren't for a few takeaways, it could be even worse. One of the biggest concerns is the complete lack of ability to defend the run game, as the Steelers' front seven for the most part remains in tack from last season.
In Week 1, the New York Jets ran for 182 yards against the Steelers and were able to consistently get chunk plays on the ground. It was a tough matchup considering quarterback Justin Fields accounted for 48 of those yards, and rushing quarterbacks always make the ground game a more complex problem to solve. If the problems were resolved in Week 2, many would have written off that miserable performance.
Unfortunately, Week 2 was more of the same with running back Kenneth Walker running for 105 yards on only 13 carries, and one of those carries was a 19-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter which all but sealed the game for the Seahawks. This repeat of failure to stop the run by the Steelers' defense has become a major concern that needs to be addressed.
There is one trend from both the Seahawks and Jets run game that the Steelers need to pay heavy attention to when adjusting their defense moving forward. Both teams decided to run heavily to the offense's left side, the defenses right, and had success doing so. Basically, they're choosing to run away from TJ Watt, and the Steelers aren't doing anything to prevent it. Below is the carry chart from Next Gen Stats for Walker against the Steelers in Week 2, and you can see there were no runs starting to the right side of the offense outside of the hashmarks.
NextGenStats.NFL.com
Seattle Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker's carry chart from Week 2 of 2025 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
A run chart very similar to above can be found for running back Breece Hall in Week 1 as well, clearly showing teams understand the best way to attack the Steelers' defense on the ground is getting as far away from Watt as possible.
There were many reports that the Steelers were looking to move Watt around the defensive formation much more in 2025, as it was clear teams were able to better handle Watt over the second half of 2024 due to knowing where he was going to be every snap. However, that hasn't been the case as Watt continued to line up in his standard spot on the left side of the defense on 90% of his snaps in Week 2.
It should be clear to everyone, including Head Coach Mike Tomlin and the rest of the Steelers coaching staff that a change in strategy is desperately needed to fix some of their defensive problems. The coaching staff has been very slow to adjust to their weaknesses in recent seasons however, so this trend may continue for several more weeks.
Steelers' TJ Watt Having Concerning Stretch Without Production
It has been pretty clear that the defensive strategy from the Steelers hasn't been producing results, and that is likely impacting Watt's ability to influence the game with his highlight reel plays. Watt has yet to record a sack in 2025, and outside of a couple tackles for loss, he largely hasn't made an impact to this point.
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (X: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Steelers outside linebacker TJ Watt (90) during 2025 training camp in Latrobe, PA.
Team's continuing to run away from Watt on the ground and sending multiple bodies at him as a pass rusher are likely the root cause for his lack of production to this point, but he has been able to overcome these in the past. Getting Watt back to making splash plays will be a big part of the Steelers' defense being able to turn their performance around the rest of the 2025 season.
Who do you blame for the Steelers' inability to adjust defensively through two weeks? Let us know in the comments below! Please feel free to share your Steelers takes with me on X @matt_papiernik and follow me.
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