The Pittsburgh Steelers are 1-1 following a 31-17 home loss to the Seattle Seahawks in a game where very little went right for the Black and Gold. Through the first two weeks of the 2025 NFL season, the Steelers’ biggest issue has surprisingly been the very unit that fans were most confident in before the year began: the defense. After an offseason full of free agency signings, trades, new contracts, and an exciting draft class, the Pittsburgh defense has been disappointing to say the least. One former NFL head coach says that hype doesn't always equal success.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' Jalen Ramsey and other members of the defense celebrate after forcing a turnover during the 2025 season.
As the Steelers prepare to take on the New England Patriots for Week 3 action on Sunday, Jon Gruden, gave his insight to this weekend's matchup. A former head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Gruden has made quite the name for himself over the past year on social media. His love and knowledge for the game has always made him a must-watch personality, even during his days as a color commentator for ESPN's Monday Night Football. Gruden has created a brand of his own with Barstool Sports, and one weekly segment on his YouTube channel consists of game previews of matchups around the NFL. One of his highlighted games for Week 3: Steelers vs Patriots.
Steelers fans are reasonably frustrated with how the defense has played during the first two weeks of the season. After an offseason full of big-name trades and signings, it was thought that this defensive unit was going to be elite, and potentially even historic. One of Gruden's first talking points in this week's preview video was all of the hype surrounding the Steelers this offseason, and how it hasn't exactly translated well on the field.
"The Steelers had a lot of preseason 'hoopla,' and that only takes you so far," said Gruden.
With the signing of Darius Slay, the trade for Jalen Ramsey, the drafting of Derrick Harmon, and the historic contract extension given to TJ Watt, Steelers fans and the NFL media had every right to believe that this Steelers defense would be among the top units in the league, but they've been everything but that through two weeks.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay during their debuts against the New York Jets in 2025.
The Steelers are currently 28th in points allowed, 25th in passing yards allowed, 28th in rushing yards allowed, and 25th in sacks with only three recorded by the defense.
"They talked about having this historic defense, all these acquisitions, but right now, the results have been troubling and very eye-opening and concerning," said Gruden. "They got to get it going."
It’s important to point out that the Steelers aren’t exactly at full strength right now defensively. Key injuries have piled up, forcing the defense to shuffle pieces around. Starting safety DeShon Elliott went down with a knee injury in the first half of Pittsburgh’s Week 1 win over the New York Jets and has yet to return. Third-year cornerback Joey Porter Jr. also suffered an injury in that same game and was forced to miss last week’s matchup with Seattle, leaving the secondary even more thin. Linebacker Alex Highsmith left the Seahawks game with an ankle injury, and rookie first-round pick Harmon is still working his way back from a knee injury suffered in the preseason. Injuries certainly don’t make life easy, but at the end of the day, Pittsburgh’s defense simply hasn’t played up to its standard.
Steelers' Defense Has An Opportunity To Turn Season Around Against Patriots
The Patriots are riding high coming into this week's matchup, following their 33-27 win over the Miami Dolphins last week. Second-year quarterback Drake Maye is top ten in the league in passing yards through the first two weeks of the season.
Eric J. Adler / New England Patriots
Patriots' Drake Maye looks to throw during a win over the Miami Dolphins in 2025.
However, New England's rushing attack has been far from impressive. The team's top two running backs, Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson, have combined for only 106 rushing yards this season. If the Steelers can contain the Patriots' run game, it could give them the confidence and optimism to turn those defensive woes around for the remainder of the season.
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