Run defense issues resurface for Steelers in loss to Browns

Watching the Pittsburgh Steelers try to defend the run has been like trying to absorb Niagara Falls with a paper towel.

No matter how often the Steelers try to sop up the leaks, the water keeps gushing through like a tidal wave.

It happened again Thursday night in a 29-17 loss to the Cleveland Browns, a defeat that was the second in five days and lowered the Steelers’ record to 1-2.

Led by Nick Chubb, the Browns rushed for 171 yards, marking the seventh time in the past 12 regular-season games the Steelers allowed more than 150 in a game.

“They dominated the line of scrimmage last night,” safety Terrell Edmunds said Friday afternoon. “We definitely have to push back. We can’t let guys run down on us. It’s something we’ve got to work on, something we’ve got to get better at.

“We’ve been singing the same song, so we have to figure out what we’ve got to do to get better at it.”

The Steelers will have the weekend to ponder ways to fix the run defense before players return to practice Monday. Friday also was supposed to be a day off, but coach Mike Tomlin called a team meeting and brought his players in for film study, Edmunds said.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a message. It shows we lost,” Edmunds said. “It shows we have stuff that we can get better on, stuff we have to do better, and we have to watch the film to get better.”

After finishing last among the NFL’s 32 teams in defending the run in 2021, the Steelers thought they took steps toward avoiding a repeat performance. Teryl Austin was promoted to defensive coordinator, former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores was added to the coaching staff and noted run stoppers Larry Ogunjobi and Myles Jack were added to the front seven.

Jack led the Steelers with 12 tackles, becoming the first Steelers player since Larry Foote in 2008 to get at least 10 in three consecutive games. Still, Chubb finished with 113 yards rushing, and the Browns pieced together 14-play and 11-play scoring drives in the second half to turn a 14-13 deficit into a 23-14 advantage.

After allowing 146 yards per game last season, the Steelers are giving up an average of 142 through three weeks this year.

What was troubling is the Steelers knew Chubb and Kareem Hunt would be the focal point of the Browns offense. Their game preparation centered around limiting the Browns duo, which is the league’s best rushing tandem.

“Maybe one of the best duos of backs this league has ever seen,” inside linebacker Robert Spillane said, “so I’ve got a lot of respect for those guys. We have to do a better job tackling, getting 11 hats to the ball and making plays. The more we can do that going forward throughout the season, the more games we will end up winning.”

The absence of NFL Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt continued to be felt throughout the Steelers defense. In addition to tying the single-season sacks record last year, Watt is proficient at dropping running backs in the backfield, too.

“I mean, T.J. is irreplaceable,” Spillane said. “Defensive player of the year, captain of our team. It hurts not having him out there, but we don’t necessarily focus on that. We focus on the guys that are out there. We just need to continue to come together and make plays.”

Because the defense didn’t make enough plays, the Browns followed in the footsteps of the New England Patriots from the fourth quarter of the Week 2 game at Acrisure Stadium. The Patriots ran off the final 6 minutes, 33 seconds by gaining 65 yards on the ground.

On the 11-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that gave the Browns a nine-point lead with 9:29 to play, quarterback Jacoby Brissett attempted just one pass, completing a 32-yarder to Amari Cooper. Chubb had three carries for 25 yards before finishing the drive with a 1-yard plunge into the end zone. Hunt carried five times for 16 yards, and Brissett had a 6-yard run.

“When you’re out there, you have to get the ball back to the offense as fast as you can,” Edmunds said. “If we can get three-and-outs, we’d be off the field fast. But we can’t talk about that aspect of it because we have to give the offense as many chances as it needs.”

And so it was that an offense that produced two touchdowns in the opening half for the first time this season was shut out until 1:48 remained in the game. It was too little, too late to avoid a loss to the Browns.

If it’s any consolation to the Steelers, they started 1-3 a year ago but regrouped and made the playoffs with a 9-7-1 record.

“We have a lot of games left to play,” Edmunds said. “That’s our mindset. We’re in here trying to watch film and get better and keep going week to week.”