If you’re a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers then you’ve likely been past the six Lombardi Trophies on display. You’ve probably been past them enough times to know that four of them came in the 1970’s while the other two arrived during the first decade of the 21st century. Being compared to those teams should be an honor but this current defense isn’t anywhere near those teams. In fact, the current Steelers’ defense is now being compared to the one from 1988 and that’s historic for all of the wrong reasons.
Chuck Noll was still the head coach of the Black and Gold in 1988. It was his 20th overall season and the team hadn’t been to the postseason since 1984. After winning their opener over Dallas, they would go one to win just once over their next 11 games. They would win three of their last four but still gave Noll his worst record since 1970.
After riding the ‘Steel Curtain’ defense to four titles in the 1970’s, Noll’s 1988 defense would finish dead last (28th) in the league. Things were so bad that Dan Rooney, then the Chairman of the team, forced Noll to make changes. One of those was to demote Defensive Coordinator Tony Dungy to Defensive Backs Coach. Dungy resigned instead and went to work in Kansas City as their DBs Coach for three seasons.
In ’88 Dungy’s unit gave up 5.4 yards per play and a whopping 7.2 yards per pass to easily lead the NFL in that dubious stat. Fast forward to the 2025 Steelers’ defense. The current unit is giving up 5.6 yards per play which, believe it or not, is ninth in the NFL. They are also giving up 6.5 yards per pass (10th) so they aren’t approaching the ’88 unit just yet, but also consider that teams tended to push the ball downfield more than today. Shorter, quicker throws are favored in today’s game.
The 1988 defense actually featured some pretty solid talent. Rod Woodson had four interceptions while Safety Thomas Everett had three and linebacker Hardy Nickerson led the team in tackles. Greg Lloyd was starting to emerge in his rookie season while David Little also played well from his LB spot. One of their biggest issues was the inability to get to the quarterback. Tim Johnson led the team with just four sacks.
In comparison, this current Steelers’ defense has far more talent albeit older. T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward, Darius Slay and Jalen Ramsey are all 31 years old or older while the younger players just aren’t playing as consistently as they need to be playing. The last two weeks have seen Teryl Austin’s unit give up over 900 yards to the Bengals and Packers respectively. The last time the Steelers surrendered that many yards over two straight games? You guessed it, 1988.
Unlike that team in the late Eighties, this team does still have some time to get things right. Well, if not “right” then at least better. That however will be easier said than done. With a host of offensive juggernauts still on the schedule and injuries to Daniel Ekuale and DeShon Elliott, I’m less than optimistic.
Back before the season had actually kicked off, members of the defense suggested they could be in store for a ‘historic’ season. What none of us could have imagined is that they are making the wrong kind of history.
