The Pittsburgh Steelers are no strangers to lopsided roster construction that has resulted in the team’s fate resting in the performance of one side of the ball. In the NFL, it’s no secret that offensive and defensive balance (don’t forget special teams either) is paramount to constructing a team that can consistently win. Simply put, the best teams are the ones who can rely on both their offense and their defense.
The past several seasons have seen the Steelers’ defense shoulder the burden for the offense’s shortcomings. There’s obviously more to having a top-scoring offense than having an elite quarterback, but in the post-Ben Roethlisberger years, Pittsburgh hasn’t been able to find the guy to stabilize that position and in turn, the offense as a whole.
The defense, littered with talent and big names like T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward, has for years been the backbone of the franchise. The group has finished as a top 10 scoring defense in each of the past three seasons. Even if there was no postseason success to show for it, this unit was capable of grinding out a 13-10 win when needed.
This season was supposed to be more of the same defensively. Pittsburgh even added to their defensive group with veteran former All-Pro cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay in an effort to be able to cover anyone they wanted to.
The offense, however, remained the question mark that it had been for the better part of the past half-decade. Veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers was brought to Pittsburgh in an attempt to be a stabilizing force that the offense needed. Receiver DK Metcalf and tight end Jonnu Smith were acquired to give the offense some firepower. Most pundits believed that the fate of the 2025 Pittsburgh Steelers would be determined by the performance of the offense because the defense is and has been a known commodity.
Fast-forward to Week 9 and the script has been completely flipped. Not only is the defense badly underperforming, but the only hope right now for Pittsburgh seems to be in the offense carrying the team. Frustrating as that is, offensive lineman Troy Fautanu is only focused on his job. Not what the defense is – or isn’t – doing.
“We gotta score points every game, you know what I mean?” Fautanu said on Sportsline with George Von Benko. “We put it on ourselves because that’s what we can control is being able to score points. So obviously the losses, whatever the defense has going on, we can’t control that. We gotta be able to go out there and have their backs the same way that they would have our backs if we weren’t doing our best.
“Football is the ultimate team game, man. When the offense is down, the defense picks us up because they’ve got everybody you could dream of having a defense. We gotta be vice versa.”
Rodgers has been steady, if unspectacular. The 41-year-old has topped 200 yards passing in six of seven games. The young offensive line, including Fautanu, have come a long way since the start of the season. So much so that the run game has started to come alive, surpassing 90 yards rushing in each of the last four games.
Fautanu is a young player who is coming into his own as the Steelers starting right tackle. It’s not surprising to hear him say all the right things when it comes to supporting his defense. As he said, football really is the ultimate team sport as the Steelers continue to demonstrate this season. When one unit is falling short of expectations, the entire team is compromised.
The Steelers’ defense has been another story. In back-to-back primetime games against the Cincinnati Bengals and Green Bay Packers, it has felt like the opposing offense could do whatever they wished and Pittsburgh had no answer. The defense has been torched in the passing game, allowing over 300 yards in both games and in turn has allowed over 30 points in both contests.
While it may not be ideal for the offense to have to carry the defense, if trends continue, it may be the only hope for the Steelers. If the poor play wasn’t enough for the secondary, the safety position has taken a hit from injuries. Starting strong safety DeShon Elliott has suffered a hyperextended knee that has landed him on IR. Safeties Jabrill Peppers and Chuck Clark will both miss Sunday’s game against Indianapolis. Newly acquired safety Kyle Dugger figures to factor greatly into the defense’s plans for Sunday out of necessity. Against a top offensive team in the Colts this week, it’s not a stretch to assume that the offense will have to score early and often just to keep pace.
For all their troubles this season on the field, one thing that can be said about the Steelers is that the mistakes and poor performances haven’t led to any direct finger pointing. Defensive captain Cam Heyward said he has challenged everybody including himself to be better when speaking to the media this week. It sounds like Fautanu has his defense’s back despite their recent failings and that’s reassuring for now. It will be interesting to see how the locker room will react if the trend of defensive struggles continues and the offense is forced to overcome.
It will also be interesting to see if the Steelers offensive strategy will change based on the defense’s inability to get off the field. Last week against Green Bay, Chris Boswell kicked four field goals, the shortest of which was 48 yards. The Steelers didn’t go for it on fourth down on any of those occasions because they relied on their All-Pro kicker. With points being a necessity, the offensive strategy may need to be less conservative.
As Fautanu suggested, with the defense’s needle pointing down, the offense will need to pick them up as s unit. Being more aggressive in pursuit of the endzone could be part of that strategy.
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