The Pittsburgh Steelers' defense got plowed over by LeGarrette Blount in Sunday's 27-16 loss to the New England Patriots.
The Pats' bruising back churned out 127 yards on 24 carries (5.3 YPC) and two rushing touchdowns.
"He's a big guy, he's a good runner, but we didn't get blocks," inside linebacker Ryan Shazier said, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "We didn't make tackles. Everyone is responsible. We have to hold each other accountable. We have to make sure we can be the defense we can be. Right now, we're looking like garbage. This is terrible right now."
"We're normally known for stopping the run, but, if teams feel like they can get 100 or 200 yards rushing on us every game, they're going to continue to run," Shazier said. "If we keep playing like this, they're going to keep doing this. We have to make sure when we come back we're going to force them to stop running the ball and do whatever we want them to do. Right now, they can do whatever they want to do. and that's going to hurt us. We're going to continue to lose if that happens."
The absence of defense end Cameron Heyward the past two weeks is a big reason the Steelers' defense struggled to plug the run and push the pocket in the pass rush.
Players won't point to one missing piece or one problem plaguing Pittsburgh's defense.
"It's all about putting our face in it and stopping the run," Stephon Tuitt said. "It's about want to."
After two disastrous outings, the Steelers' defense has the bye week to find more "want to" -- and get healthier.
