The Pittsburgh Steelers have a bunch of new faces dotting their roster entering the season opener. There’s a great deal of anticipation for the new-look offense with Aaron Rodgers under center, especially against his old team in the New York Jets, too.
But the biggest key Sunday inside MetLife Stadium against the Jets might be the run defense against a big test right out of the chute.
The last time the Steelers’ defense was on the field for a meaningful game, Pittsburgh allowed 299 rushing yards in its AFC Wild Card loss to the Baltimore Ravens, getting pushed around from start to finish.
The Steelers set out in the offseason to address that problem, including drafting defensive linemen Derrick Harmon and Yahya Black. They also added other pieces to the defense to help shore things up. Though Harmon will miss the season opener with a knee injury suffered in the preseason finale, and questions surrounding All-Pro Cameron Heyward’s availability, the run defense will be under the microscope Sunday.
For ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, that’s the biggest key for Pittsburgh Sunday.
“Yes, the headline of this matchup is Aaron Rodgers’ return to MetLife against the Jets, but it’s also a crucial measuring stick for a Steelers run defense that wilted down the stretch last season,” Pryor writes. “The Steelers will face a stout RB tandem in Breece Hall and Braelon Allen (whom coach Mike Tomlin compared to Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery) along with a familiar face in mobile QB Justin Fields — and they’ll do so without first-round rookie DT Derrick Harmon (MCL sprain).
“But third-year lineman Keeanu Benton expressed confidence in his unit’s improvement from a season ago.”
Of course Rodgers returning to New York is the headliner. He was supposed to be the Jets’ savior, but things crashed and burned dramatically for him. One year it was due to his torn Achilles four plays into the season. It was a number of things last year.
He’s in Pittsburgh now. That’s all that matters. But that hasn’t stopped this matchup from being hyped up.
It won’t be an explosive, shootout game with Rodgers and Justin Fields under center for either team. Instead, it’s likely going to be a hard-nosed, smashmouth style game. Both teams want to run the football, and both teams have good backfields that are capable of doing it.
The Steelers made it a point of emphasis to stop the run this offseason, both from a personnel and philosophical standpoint. Sunday will be a massive test. In their last matchup with the Jets in Week 8 last season, the Steelers held the Jets to just 54 rushing yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. That game ended up being a blowout, but with Aaron Glenn now as head coach and the Jets wanting to be physical and run the football, they’ll test Pittsburgh’s run defense early and often.
It’s a huge test for the Steelers. If they can pass it and have good run defense, things should be looking up. If not, well, it could be a real problem moving forward.
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