Steelers defense Queen
Steelers defense Queen
The Pittsburgh Steelers historically have prided themselves on defense. There is the legendary Steel Curtain defense in the 1970s, headlined by a handful of Pro Football Hall of Famers. Then in the 2000s, they had a legendary defense under then-defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau.
That DNA is part of why the Steelers have invested so much in their defense in recent years. The Steelers believe they should have the best defense, and they spend money on it to do so. Just look at the difference that new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham has experienced in defensive spending.
Yet the Steelers have not gotten the desired results in recent years. Their defense gave up 30 passing touchdowns last year, 23rd in the league. They gave up 352 first downs defensively, 25th in the league. The results do not match the spend. The biggest question is whether it’s a coaching problem or a player problem. Beat writer Mark Kaboly thinks we’ll get an answer this year.
“We always blame, is [Mike] Tomlin meddling, Teryl Austin couldn’t do his stuff,” Kaboly said Wednesday on 93.7 The Fan’s The Pomp And Joe Show. “If the defense fails this year, it’s on T.J. Watt, it’s on [Alex] Highsmith, it’s on Cam Heyward. It’s the players’ fault this year. We can’t continuously say, ‘Oh, it’s just the coaching staff, they didn’t put them in the right situations.’ I think this staff’s going to put them in the right situations.”
The Steelers’ defense in recent years drew a lot of criticism for underperforming. Depending on whom you asked, it was either the players not being good enough and were way overpaid, or former head coach Mike Tomlin and former defensive coordinator Teryl Austin hadn’t kept up with the league trends. Kaboly believes that the Steelers isolated one variable, the coaching staff, and made it better.
One area that needs to improve is the pass rush. The Steelers lacked a high-end pass rush in 2025, which is very concerning considering whom they had on the field. T.J. Watt had only seven sacks. Fellow OLB Alex Highsmith led the team in sacks with 9.5, while OLB Nick Herbig finished with 7.5. That’s not a ton of production from an area that’s supposed to be the defense’s strength.
Now, was that due to the players or the coaching staff not putting them in advantageous spots? Almost 10 sacks is pretty good for Alex Highsmith (second-highest mark in his career). But that shouldn’t be the team-leading mark. You’d expect more out of T.J. Watt, especially. Former Steelers RB Merril Hoge expects that will change this year, predicting Watt will win the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year award.
A big part of that is the personnel around Watt. But Hoge also thinks the new staff will upgrade his performance, too. As for the old staff, Steelers ILB Patrick Queen certainly hasn’t shied away from criticizing the Steelers’ defensive scheme. Perhaps Graham will get everybody playing better this year. Kaboly believes he and his staff should improve the level of play.
If Patrick Graham and company can’t get this defensive unit back toward the top in the league, then it’s the players who are the problem, not the coaches.