Gerry Dulac: Steelers had a complete system breakdown -- and it's not a one-off

Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Nov 11, 2025

Published in Football

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PITTSBURGH — Much of what happened Sunday night in SoFi Stadium was not the fault of the Steelers defense, not when the offense continues to post anemic numbers that apparently are causing a headache for Mike Tomlin.

But this much is known about this Steelers team:

The defense is solely reliant on getting takeaways and is not good enough to win games without them.

That was made apparent again in the 25-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers — the fourth time in the past five games the Steelers did not generate a turnover. They are 1-3 in those games.

“It’s not enough Steelers football,” outside linebacker T.J. Watt said. “We can’t continue to live and die with turnovers.”

But that isn’t the only problem.

The Steelers have not run more plays than the opponent in any game this season. Through nine games, they have allowed an average of 69.1 plays while averaging only 55 plays — a 14-play disparity.

Not only can’t the defense get off the field, the offense can’t stay on long enough. The Chargers ran 69 plays compared to only 50 for the Steelers — the second-biggest disparity of the season.

That’s what happens when you don’t convert a third down until the fourth quarter and convert just 2 of 11 chances.

“Good defenses will spend a lot of time on the bench,” Watt said. “And we haven’t been doing that enough. “

None of this, though, is to dismiss the offensive failures.

The Steelers had 11 first downs and 221 yards against the Chargers — both season-lows — which is 4 yards fewer than the previous week against the Colts. That is the second-lowest two-game total (446 yards) in the past six seasons.

It is the third game in a row and sixth time in nine games they have failed to eclipse 300 yards offense.

“Our defense played really well, and offensively we were pretty bad,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “We’ve got to find a way to get open on third down, and I’ve got to find a way to hit them.”

It is no secret the Steelers need Rodgers to play well to win — he said as much after the game — and he did not.

He completed 16 of 31 passes — his lowest percentage (51.6%) since the 2020 season — and his passer rating (50.6) was the sixth-lowest of his 21-year career. Rodgers threw for 161 yards, but 65 came on the final possession that produced the only touchdown.

When asked to assess his quarterback’s performance, Tomlin paused and snapped, “How would you? Next.” It was an uncharacteristic moment of pique for the Steelers coach, especially when directed at a player.

“I didn’t play very good at all,” Rodgers said. “I have got to play better. We’ve got four division games left to play. It’s a long season, it’s a good opponent, and we just didn’t play very good [Sunday].”

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