The Pittsburgh Steelers made it a focus to improve their run defense in 2025. After all, the last time we saw the Steelers try to stop a run game during the 2024 NFL season, the Baltimore Ravens ran roughshod in the playoffs. They ran for 299 yards against a defense that historically prides itself on stifling opponents’ run games.
Unfortunately, the Steelers began the 2025 season much the same way they ended last season. They allowed the New York Jets (and former Steelers QB Justin Fields) to run for 183 yards. Thankfully, the Steelers still found a way to win, thanks to QB Aaron Rodgers and K Chris Boswell. But the problems with the run defense remain. Will the Seattle Seahawks be able to continue the Steelers’ woes?
“The Jets’ running game specifically, and the uniqueness of that compared to the rest of the NFL in terms of the personnel there, but also what they’re doing with Justin Fields and Breece Hall in the backfield, just not going to be the same thing with Seattle Seahawks,” Analyst Mike Renner said [Friday on Pushing The Pile](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWa5ioASjVo&ab_channel=NFLonCBS). “There’s no option threat here. There’s no misdirection threat here from the Seattle Seahawks. You kind of know what you’re getting out of this running attack from Klint Kubiak. So, I think the Steelers bounce back in that regard.”
Thankfully for the Steelers’ defense, Seahawks QB Sam Darnold is no Justin Fields. In 84 career regular-season games, Darnold has carried the ball 278 times for 986 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns. That’s an average of 3.5 yards per carry. He also only averages 3.3 carries per game.
Fields is a completely different player at quarterback. In 51 regular-season games, he’s logged 430 carries for 2,557 yards and 21 rushing touchdowns. That’s an average of 5.9 yards per carry. And he averages 8.4 carries a game. Last Sunday alone against the Steelers, Fields ran the ball 12 times for 48 yards and two touchdowns.
The Steelers will be facing a completely different style of rushing attack when they take the field against the Seahawks on Sunday. Seattle struggled to run the ball effectively against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1. They attempted 26 carries for 84 yards and one touchdown, an average of 3.2 yards per carry.
If nothing else, the Seahawks are not bringing as complex a rushing attack as the Jets had. That makes run defense a bit easier schematically. You simply don’t have to identify the ball carrier with the Seahawks.
The Steelers themselves also feel like they’ve addressed the issues on their end. S Juan Thornhill said Thursday that individual players [need to stop trying to do so much](https://steelersdepot.com/2025/09/juan-thornhill-outlines-biggest-issue-with-run-defense-we-got-those-things-fixed/) on a given snap. Instead, the defense needs to operate as a unit, 11 players each doing their job.
Will the combination of a less-complex rushing attack and a renewed focus on each player doing their job help fix the Steelers’ run defense woes? We will see on Sunday. But remember, the Steelers still have two games against a complex rushing attack in the Baltimore Ravens coming up this season. They’ll need to be that much more disciplined and detail-oriented in those matchups.