Paul Zeise: Steelers defense only has to be historic for one night

Paul Zeise, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Dec 31, 2025

Published in Football

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PITTSBURGH — It has been a long, bumpy ride for the Steelers defense this season. It has had as many bad days as good.

This was supposed to be a defense that did historic things, but quite frankly, that never materialized. There were periods when the Steelers couldn't stop rushing offenses and other days when they were shredded through the air.

And, on the flip side, the Steelers defense has had games when it has looked like the Steel Curtain of the 1970s and either forced a bunch of turnovers or just shut an opposing offense down.

The statistics show it is an average defense on paper — at best — as it is in the bottom 10 in total yards given up per game, bottom 10 in passing yards given up per game and middle of the pack in both scoring and rushing defense.

The unit has been much better of late, though, and has played well enough that the team should be 4-0 in its last four games. The fact it is 3-1, with the lone loss to Cleveland on Sunday, is because of malpractice by the offense.

The defense made huge plays down the stretch to beat the Baltimore Ravens, then shut down the Miami Dolphins and stoned the Detroit Lions running game to win three in a row. And even against Cleveland, it bullied the Browns offense, whose only touchdown came on kind of a flukish wounded duck thrown up by Shedeur Sanders.

The Steelers defense has been the ultimate survivalist and has found ways to get the job done even when it appeared to be springing a leak. It got shredded by New England but created turnover after turnover to keep the Patriots off the scoreboard long enough to pull out a win.

There are a number of examples of this throughout the season and a number of examples of games when the defense led the Steelers to a win even if statistically they didn't look spectacular.

On Sunday, they play the Ravens and have a chance to put their stamp on this season if they can pull together one last great effort. And the beauty of that is if the defense leads the way — like I think it will — the final chapter will be the one by which it is most defined.

That's the thing about sports that probably has been lost in this era of advanced analytics, fantasy football, statistic nerds and even point spreads in gambling — the only stats that matter are W's and L's.

I will quote Dominic Torretto from those "Fast and Furious" movies on this one:

"It don't matter if you win by an inch or a mile — winning is winning."

The Steelers need to win Sunday against the Ravens and if they do, they will win the AFC North and clinch a home playoff game. The offense will again be without DK Metcalf and Darnell Washington and might be without Calvin Austin III, as well.

That is a lot of playmaking ability not in the lineup for an offense that doesn't exactly light the world on fire even at full strength. The Steelers will move the ball against the Ravens, whose defense has struggled all season, and they do have the ultimate scoring weapon in Chris Boswell, but I don't expect them to score a lot of points.

Given that, it is on the defense to be "historic" and shut down the Ravens offense to lead the Steelers to victory. Derrick Harmon is a rookie, but he might be the key cog in the defense to stop the Ravens.

It is clear Lamar Jackson might not be ready to play, and if that's the case, it will be Tyler Huntley manning the quarterback spot. On Saturday against Green Bay, the game plan the Ravens used to win with Huntley at quarterback was giving the Packers a heavy, healthy dose of Derrick Henry, who is seemingly still racking up yards and touchdowns.

Henry is a man among boys as a running back and can be a handful for defenses to handle. And even though Baltimore coach John Harbaugh seemingly forgets Henry is on the roster at times, with Huntley playing quarterback, I would expect the Steelers will get a bunch of Henry, as well.

That is why stopping Henry will be the key for the Steelers to beat the Ravens, and that starts with Harmon and his ability to stop the run.

The secondary has been beat up all season and shaky, but it does have some players who are good in run support. Huntley isn't likely to beat the Steelers with his arm, so the defense should have an opportunity to shut down the Ravens.

I am not saying that will happen, but it absolutely could. A great night by the defense is the best — and maybe only — path for the Steelers to win.