The story of the 2025 Pittsburgh Steelers defense isn’t done being written, but there have definitely been some unexpected plot twists along the way. From the “historic” defense claim made by Mike Tomlin until now, the Steelers have transformed defensively in multiple ways. They may finally be figuring out what works for them at the right time.
“I think we’ve always had belief,” rookie OLB Jack Sawyer said Thursday in a clip posted by 93.7 The Fan on X. “I think that even with some of our early-season struggles, we never lost belief or lost faith because it’s a long season and getting hot at the right time matters the most. I think that right now we’re trending in the right direction and we’re getting better in the areas we need to get better at.”
After allowing 30 or more points in four of the first seven games, it’s only happened once since then against the Chicago Bears. That was capped with just 15 points allowed to the red-hot Miami Dolphins on Monday night, albeit in extreme cold temperatures. The two most impressive parts of that performance were allowing negative-20 net yards in the third quarter as a defense and holding the Dolphins to 63 rushing yards after an elite four-game stretch for De’Von Achane and that offense.
What we will all find out on Sunday is whether the improvement was a one-game fluke after six weeks of getting torched by almost every opponent, or something to finally build on for the rest of the season. Defensive turnarounds like that aren’t unheard of in the NFL. Just look at the Baltimore Ravens from the first half of the 2024 season to the second half. They went from one of the worst to one of the best. The Philadelphia Eagles did it last year, too.
If there is one reason worth believing in for a turnaround, it’s the evolving personnel over the course of the season. At the beginning of the year, the Steelers were moving Jalen Ramsey around to three different positions and relying on Darius Slay to start opposite Joey Porter Jr. It caused a complete mess in the secondary with too many moving parts and a lack of communication.
Now they have Ramsey in one spot and playing his best football of the year at safety. Kyle Dugger was acquired ahead of the trade deadline to stabilize the other safety position, and a combination of James Pierre and Asante Samuel Jr. are much more effective than Slay ever was in Black and Gold. Patrick Queen is starting to play his best football of the season, and the Steelers are getting first-round rookie DT Derrick Harmon back this week.
On top of the personnel, the Steelers are playing complementary football for the first time this season. Special teams have been on fire, and the offense is finding ways to string together long drives to give the defense a break. If you are looking for reasons to be optimistic, they exist.
It will all need to be proven with a huge test this weekend against the Detroit Lions. Can Steelers’ defense prove that last week was more than a fluke with a strong performance against the NFL’s No. 1 scoring offense on the road? If not, they are back to square one with a massive Week 18 win-and-in game against the Baltimore Ravens on the horizon.
