If you look at the Pittsburgh Steelers’ total 130-minute body of work thus far this season, you would have to conclude, I think, that the defense has played well, often quite well, on the whole. There have certainly been some issues, some key lapses, but a lot of teams would trade units in a heartbeat.
Still, it was concerning to watch this unit get moved around in the fourth quarter on Sunday against the New England Patriots, during which point it seemed as though the offensive line and whole team schematics were able to take over. While Pittsburgh’s offense mustered up just a pair of three-and-out drives, the Patriots authored multiple long, sustained drives in the final frame that put the game away, and which relied on churning out yards on the ground.