Last season, the Pittsburgh Steelers had one of the best overall defenses in the NFL. But when you dig into the numbers you see the one spot where the Steelers struggled. Pittsburgh was ranked No. 14 in rush yards allowed.
We can and will dig more into the reasons why a defense so good struggled against the run more as the offseason goes on. But the reality is this is an area that needed improvement but I’m not convinced the team did anything in the offseason to improve it.
However, it won’t take long to find out. Here’s how the Steelers early schedule breaks down in terms of the run game.
Week 1-New York Giants
Week 2-Denver Broncos
Week 3-Houston Texans
Week 4-Tennessee Titans
Week 5-Philadelphia Eagles
Week 6-Cleveland Browns
Week 7-Baltimore Ravens
Week 9-Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens, Titans and Cowboys were all ranked in the top five in rushing in 2019. The Texans were ranked in the Top 12 and both the Eagles and Browns were ranked in the top 12.
Even moving to the second half of the Season the Steelers will face the Ravens again, the Indianapolis Colts and Buffalo Bills who all ranked in the top seven in rushing last season.
Looking at additions and subtractions this group will be tested. The Steelers lost Javon Hargrave to free agency and will be replaced in the starting lineup by Tyson Alualu. Is this an upgrade or a downgrade?
Additionally, Pittsburgh released inside linebacker Mark Barron and he will be replaced by Vince Williams. This, along with the continued improvement of linebacker Devin Bush and safety Terrell Edmunds should all add up to a big upgrade.
