One week after riding high following a thrilling 34-32 win over the New York Jets, the Pittsburgh Steelers crashed back down to earth in Week 2 with an embarrassing 31-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the home opener.
The Steelers couldn’t stop the run for the second straight week, were bullied up front on both sides of the ball, and this time, were the ones to make the special teams blunder that changed the game.
Now, they sit at 1-1 on the season and are staring down a tough trip to Foxboro for a matchup with the New England Patriots in Week 3.
The Steelers have plummeted in the power rankings across the NFL media landscape, too, which isn’t surprising. Below is a chart of aggregate power rankings from several major outlets.
On average, the Steelers dropped four spots in power rankings after the Week 2 loss to the Seahawks. They went from sitting right around No. 15 overall after Week 1 to No. 19 overall in Week 2. They’re now a fringe top 20 team, which sounds about right after that loss.
For The Athletic’s Josh Kendall, who dropped the Steelers to No. 17 overall, down from No. 13 last week, he sees the Steelers as having a bad defense. That defense is a major concern for the Black and Gold moving forward.
“Houston is the only NFL team paying more to its defense this year, and the $173.8 million the Steelers are giving out does not seem like money well spent,” Kendall writes regarding the Steelers in The Athletic power rankings. “Seattle had 395 yards of offense Sunday after finishing with 230 in Week 1. Meanwhile, a New York Jets team that put 42 points and 394 yards on Pittsburgh last week totaled just 10 points and 154 yards against the Bills in Week 2.
“Pittsburgh is 29th in the league in scoring defense (31.5 ppg allowed) and 31st in defensive success rate (50.4 percent).”
Coming into the season, the Steelers defense was expected to be among the league’s best. In fact, safety Juan Thornhill stated it could be the best ever. Even head coach Mike Tomlin stated it could be historic.
It’s been anything but historic in the first two weeks. The Steelers are struggling to generate pressure on opposing quarterbacks, can’t stop the run, and are giving up points in bunches. It’s a massive problem, one that doesn’t have a real answer that seems obvious.
This was supposed to be a team built around a great defense while having an offense that can do just enough in key moments with Aaron Rodgers under center. Instead, the offense has had to try and carry the Steelers early, and it’s just not happening. Sunday against Seattle, the Steelers offense wasn’t fooling anyone, couldn’t pass protect and struggled to run the ball consistently.
Not to mention, special teams had a huge blunder, too. Things aren’t going all that well for the Steelers at the moment.
It’s September football, though. There will be ups and downs. The Steelers are in a down cycle right now, for at least a week. Let’s see if they can bounce back in New England in Week 3.
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