Steelers Defense Suddenly Has 2 Unfortunate Lower-Body Injuries To Deal With

The Pittsburgh Steelers had another road game against the Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football, and their luck still hadn't changed. After starting off fairly hot, the second quarter was an absolute disaster for the team as it got outscored 21-3 in that frame. Pittsburgh did come back, but it was too little, too late, as the defense bent too much and kicker Andre Szmyt made a career-best 56-yard field goal with just 10 seconds to go. Even with the receivers playing better, there are still a ton of issues that need to get cleaned up in this mini-bye. 

The Steelers will have to potentially make these adjustments without two key pieces. For starters, defensive tackle Derrick Harmon was seen in a walking boot after the game. 

Harmon was carted off the field after a Browns touchdown drive, and his lack of presence was clearly felt. For the rest of the quarter, the Steelers kept missing tackles left and right. It got better in the second half, but it still was not a clean game in the slightest on that front. The former first-round pick has been one of the team's better tacklers in the early part of the season, so that was rough to see.

Rookie defensive linemen Gabriel Rubio and Kevin Jobity Jr. have been healthy scratches throughout the first month of the season. At least one of them will likely have to step up and help fill Harmon's shoes if he has to miss any time. Luckily, they are both seen as quality run defenders, so these obvious run-down situations shouldn't be too much of a problem. 

Harmon is not the only one with an uncertain status for the foreseeable future, however. Shortly after his walking boot was reported, cornerback Jamel Dean was seen in a boot as well. 

With the recent Joey Porter Jr. trade, the Steelers are expecting Dean to step up and take over as the new CB1, but it's hard to do that while dealing with an ankle issue. It felt like the Steelers panicked a bit when he was taken out of the game, as they played very soft defense. That made it easy for Deshaun Watson to find his rookie receivers in the open field for most of the game. 

With the mini-bye week coming up, it wouldn't be shocking to see the Steelers sign some more cornerbacks to add to the depth of the team. Even with all the hype around Daylen Everette, Pittsburgh was clearly not interested in having him play aggressively and possibly expose him. With Dean's recent history with injuries, the team will most likely take caution with him.

Steelers' Other Depth Notes In The Secondary

Despite breaking his wrist in Week 3, defensive back Jalen Ramsey played well for the most part. On the Browns' first drive, he made a big tackle to keep the ball-carrier short of the first down line and force a punt. It doesn't look like the injury is bothering him too much, and with the extended rest before Week 5, there should be very few concerns on that front as he heals up.

After a busted coverage, the Steelers benched Rayshawn Jenkins in favor of seventh-round rookie Robert Spears-Jennings. He played well overall, as he was second on the team in tackles with seven, with six of them solo. He also recorded his first career interception on a deep, deflected pass. That pick directly led to Pittsburgh scoring a touchdown to claw back into the game.

What do you think about the injuries to Harmon and Dean? Let us know on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

#SteelerNation