Gerry Dulac: Behind promising rookies, Steelers defense shows signs of life

Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Sep 23, 2025

Published in Football

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PITTSBURGH — As a group, the Steelers are not concerned about a couple dubious streaks continuing to haunt their defense, not when they still manage to win the game.

But there may be signs that is about to change. And a lot of that has to do with the return of their No. 1 pick.

Derrick Harmon’s debut with the Steelers was a smash hit — literally — beginning with his very first series when he took on a double team to create pressure for Keaanu Benton, chased down running back TreVeyon Henderson from behind, and registered a sack on just his third snap.

After missing four weeks with an MCL sprain, Harmon played 35 snaps in the 21-14 victory in New England on Sunday and immediately showed that his presence will go a long way toward improving the defensive line.

“He's a competitor, he wanted to be out there with his teammates,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “I thought he represented himself well. It's upwards and onwards from here.”

Couple that with the increased playing time of rookie Yahya Black, who played 25 snaps, and the Steelers are starting to see what their two draft choices can do to strengthen their front wall.

“I thought Derek played very well,” defensive end Cam Heyward said. “I was worried about his conditioning, but he came to play. I think it really balanced out our group. He’s just going to keep getting better. It creates for something we can build on.”

Still, not to be overlooked in the aftermath of their victory against the Patriots is that the Steelers allowed 368 yards of offense — extending their league-high stretch of giving up at least 300 yards to 11 games.

Also, the defense allowed the Patriots to rush for 119 yards — the 12th time in the past 22 games they have allowed at least 100 yards rushing.

What’s more, they spent so much time on the field, the offense went dormant after its 14-0 start.

At one point from the end of the beginning of the second quarter till the first play of the fourth quarter, the Patriots controlled the ball so long they ran 46 plays compared to 18 for the Steelers. That stretch included drives of 15 and 17 plays.

In the end, the Patriots ran 71 plays and had 33 minutes, 20 seconds of possession time. The Steelers ran 49 plays and had 26:40 of possession time. That was due, in part, to the Patriots converting four fourth-down chances.

“We sat on the bench for what seemed to be 20 or 30 minutes, so we just couldn't get into a rhythm at all,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “I thought the first two drives were good rhythm-wise, and we couldn't find that rhythm in the second half.”

But there were encouraging developments, as well.

T.J. Watt ended his six-game drought with two sacks and a fumble recovery.

The defense forced five turnovers, their most since the 2022 season opener in Cincinnati.

And they did it without three starters — Joey Porter Jr., DeShon Elliott and Alex Highsmith.

“We’re not a finished product,” Heyward said. “This is something we can continue to improve upon, and I think it’s great for our younger players, even better for our older guys because we got a lot of work to do.”

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