Two weeks in a row, things started out pretty well for the Pittsburgh Steelers defensively. Then, adversity struck, and the defense crumbled embarrassingly.
One week after getting shredded by the Joe Flacco-led Bengals’ offense, the Steelers had no answers for the Green Bay Packers’ offense. They particularly struggled in the second half of an ugly 35-25 loss.
Team captain Cameron Heyward stated last week how angry he was with the performance against Cincinnati. He’s not seeing enough fight from the group right now, particularly on defense.
“You gotta handle adversity a lot better,” Heyward said, expressing his continued frustrations to the media, according to the Tribune-Review’s Joe Rutter. “This game eroded in the second half, and big plays were the death of us today. You’re not going to be perfect out there, but you’ve got to keep fighting.
“I just think there is a lot of ball and not enough fight on our side.”
Cam Heyward on loss "You gotta handle adversity a lot better. This game eroded in second half and big plays were the death of us today. You’re not going to be perfect out there but you’ve got to keep fighting. I just think there is a lot of ball and not enough fight on our side."
— Joe Rutter (@tribjoerutter) October 27, 2025
Though the Steelers held the Packers to seven points in the first half, how they came out of the break was dreadful. There were communication issues and poor tackling, allowing things to snowball from there. A pair of missed calls by Shawn Hochuli’s crew and a key injury to DeShon Elliott seemed to take the wind out of the Steelers’ sails defensively. It led to a 28-point second half for the Packers.
While the Steelers did a decent job stopping the run on the night, holding the Packers to just 61 yards, they couldn’t cover anyone in the secondary. They also generated very little pressure on Packers QB Jordan Love, who tied a franchise record with Brett Favre by completing 20 consecutive passes and carving up the Steelers’ defense.
Heyward wasn’t the only one to criticize the Steelers’ lack of fight defensively. Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. did, too.
“We need to fight more, we need to finish more,” Porter said, according to video via the Tribune-Review’s Chris Adamski on X. “I feel like that’s just all of us, really. That’s really all I’ve got to say about that.”
At times in the second half, it felt like the defense was rolling over. It didn’t help that the offense wasn’t sustaining drives, but the defense wasn’t getting any stops or providing resistance against the Packers’ attack. It made for a very long second half, one that showed some serious flaws with the Steelers.
“It’s always gotta be, how can I affect the next play? You gotta let what happened before go. That’s just how this game works,” Heyward added, according to video via Adamski. “If you continue to feel sorry for yourself, it’s going to continue to avalanche, and this was a clear case of that.”
Things really did snowball, and the Packers’ offense felt like an avalanche rolling downhill in the second half. It was fitting, too, seeing as the Packers wore all white.
There wasn’t enough fight from the Steelers. That doesn’t mean the post-whistle skirmishes they found themselves in during the loss. They have to find that fight internally, and quickly.
Recommended for you