The Pittsburgh Steelers are having struggles on their defensive line this season. Pittsburgh is LAST in the league in rushing defense this year giving up nearly 143 yards per game on the ground.

For the first 9 years of the Ben Roethlisberger era (2004-2012) the Steelers were regularly in the top three in the league in rush defense. They only had one finish outside of that mark in 2011 when they were 8th.

In 2013 they had a dip to 21st in the league, allowing about 115 yards per game on the ground. This was the first year after Nose Tackle Casey Hampton retired, and Outside Linebacker James Harrison left the Steelers the first time.

For a couple of years they bounced back to the top 10, and have hovered in the top 10-15 in rush defense now since 2016. So what happened to this team to bring them to their worst run defense in team history?

Personnel

Here are a list of names that have left the Steelers Defense since the 2012 season:

• Casey Hampton (2012)
• James Harrison (2012)
• Ike Taylor (2014)
• LaMarr Woodley (2014)
• Brett Keisel (2014)
• Troy Polamalu (2015)
• Dick LeBeau (2015)
• Lawrence Timmons (2016)

While there have been notable names who have come into the organization over those years (Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt most importantly), the list above was the core to those historically great Steeler defenses in the 2000s and 2010s. While losing them took the team from elite to good, what happened this year?

Injuries

Going into this season, the defensive line was thought to be the strongest unit in Pittsburgh top to bottom. Heyward, Stephon Tuitt and Tyson Alualu were to be the starters. All three are great against the run and were having some of the best seasons of their respective careers as of late.

Chris Wormley, Isaiah Buggs and Carlos Davis were to be rotating in as subs. Wormley was brought over to the team last offseason in a trade with the Baltimore Ravens. He had a quiet year last year due to injuries, but is having a career year this season. Buggs and Davis are in their third and second seasons respectively, and have shown flashes in limited roles. Then rookie Isaiahh Loudermilk and Henry Mondeux were just supposed to be depth on the roster/practice squad. Loudermilk was likely going to make the 53, but be inactive on game days. And Mondeux initially went to the practice squad on final cutdown.

Then injuries hit. Tuitt never got going this season and only practiced a bit during the summer before going on IR to start the year and has not come off due to an undisclosed knee injury. Alualu started in game one, but quickly went down with a season-ending ankle injury. This forced everyone else to take on increased roles.

Wormley and Buggs became starters but have gone in opposite directions. Wormley is having a great year, but Buggs has struggles as Nose Tackle. Struggling with consistency in filling assignments he has been poor against the run this year, and hasn’t started since Week 11 due to poor play and injury. Even Carlos Davis has been on IR for much of the year, forcing Loudermilk and Mondeux to play heavily. Loudermilk has shown promise, but Mondeux has been a colander against the run.

Lack of Support

A poor defensive line can look better with a strong linebacking group – and vise versa. Unfortunately the Steelers haven’t had either this season.

Middle linebackers Devin Bush and Joe Schobert have struggled this year. Especially against the run. If a running back gets passed the defensive line, there’s a good chance they won’t be brought down until they get to the third level. This is evident by Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick leading the team in tackles.

In the past the Steelers have had a middle linebacker to help with the run defense. From James Farrior, to Lawrence Timmons, to most recently Vince Williams. Williams was a starter last year and had 70 total tackles 14 tackles for loss, second on the team in both categories.

In Conclusion

Coming out of training camp, the Steelers defensive line was supposed to be the team’s strength. There is plenty of talent on the roster to back this up. Unfortunately injuries to the top players have limited that talent and pushed others into roles they aren’t ready for.

With any luck, Alualu and Tuitt will be back next year and continue to play at the top of their games. However Tuitt’s injury has been such a mystery and Alualu will turn 35 before the season starts.

If the Steelers want to improve their run defense they’ll almost have to add some talent this offseason through the draft and/or free agency.

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