The Steelers are hanging around the top of the AFC North even with the offense stumbling, and the clearest reason is on the other side of the ball. Pittsburgh’s defense has been carrying the load, and the run defense in particular has turned suffocating in recent weeks.
At the center of that surge is Yahya Black, the big body in the middle who has become a far more important piece than anyone probably expected. Last year’s version of Black looked like a useful rotational nose tackle: solid against the run, not much of a factor on passing downs. That profile has changed.
With Derrick Harmon out, Black’s snap count has gone up, and so has his impact. The Steelers are getting the kind of steady interior force that can tilt a game without making a flashy highlight reel. He’s not the only reason Pittsburgh’s defense has locked down opposing run games, but he’s a major reason the unit has been so hard to move.
The numbers don’t jump off the page. Black’s PFF score sits at 62.7, and his line of 16 total tackles and one sack won’t fool anyone into thinking he’s suddenly a stat-sheet monster. On paper, he still reads like a useful piece rather than a difference-maker.
The tape tells a different story.
Black has become a problem in the trenches. He can soak up double teams, use his strength to plug lanes, and force backs to bounce runs where defenders are waiting. The Steelers’ recent run-defense stretch has shown exactly that, with Jonathan Taylor and Bucky Irving effectively stonewalled and the Saints limited to 18 total rushing yards in Paris.
What makes the rise even more interesting is that Black is showing more as a pass rusher, too. That has never been his calling card, and it still isn’t.
But he has expanded that part of his game this season, even if it’s still built mostly on power and a bull rush that depends on him winning with strength. In one-on-one chances, it has worked.
He’s not becoming a sack artist. That’s not the point. The fact that he can at least threaten the quarterback gives him a path to stay on the field for all three downs.
The Steelers’ entire defensive line is playing well, but Black is carving out a bigger role inside that success. His ceiling may not be limitless, but he’s clearly giving Pittsburgh more than a standard fifth-round pick, and his play has far outgrown the quiet expectations that followed him into this season.
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The names being floated span the board, from cornerback Tariq Woolen and wideout Jauan Jennings to linebacker Frankie Luvu, guard Quenton Nelson and safety Jessie Bates III, which tells you how many different conversations could be happening at once. The bigger question is not just who is available, but whether Pittsburgh wants a short-term fix in a rental type of move or prefers to keep its powder dry and trust what it has, a choice that usually gets fans arguing long before the deadline actually arrives. [Read more 🡒]
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The comparison is uncomfortable because it goes beyond a single rough afternoon. Porter has been doing his part for the Cowboys, while the Steelers are left sorting through another week where their defensive backs did not hold up the way they needed to, and that only sharpens the old question about how Pittsburgh evaluated and moved on from the young corner. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Still Have One Offensive Question They Can't Ignore
The Steelers enter Week 8 at 5-2 and riding a three-game winning streak, but the offense still has a wrinkle that is hard to ignore. Pittsburgh has leaned on a conservative approach under Mike McCarthy, and the passing game has been affected by injuries at receiver, leaving the group thinner than the record might suggest.
Michael Pittman Jr. and Roman Wilson have both been part of that disruption, and it has only sharpened the question of whether the Steelers can keep moving the ball consistently without another reliable target. There are already trade ideas circulating as ways to shore up the receiving corps, but the bigger issue is whether Pittsburgh decides to act before the seasons second half starts demanding more from an offense built to play it safe. [Read more 🡒]