The Steelers dramatically altered the roster on both sides of the ball in the offseason for a reason, but this much hasn't changed:
The importance of being able to run and stop the run.
And if the Steelers' season-opening 34-32 victory over the Jets was any indication, they need work on both of those aspects of their operation.
"Average at best," offensive coordinator Arthur Smith assessed of a running game that generated 53 yards on 20 carries, a 2.7-yard average per attempt, against the Jets.
"We just didn't play well in a lot of areas," defensive coordinator Teryl Austin acknowledged of a run defense that gave up 182 yards on 27 carries, a 4.7 average, and three rushing touchdowns.
The good news is the run-stop-the-run equation wasn't a deal-breaker against the Jets.
The offense rallied from nine points down in the second half, a comeback capped by a six-play, 39-yard drive in 2:10 that culminated in Chris Boswell's 60-yard field goal with 1:03 left in regulation.
Smith will be seeking more "efficiency" in the run game when Seattle visits Acrisure Stadium this Sunday, as well as the answers to a couple of pertinent questions.
"Are we blocking the right guys?" he offered. "Are we getting production out of it?
"We gotta improve, and that's the name of the game from Week One to Week Two."
What helped decide the game against the Jets was the sticktoitiveness and perspective the Steelers applied in lieu of ground game effectiveness.
"When you have a mature group and you have a lot of unselfish guys, they've been through it," Smith emphasized. "It's the NFL, yeah, you'd love to be up three possessions in the second half. Then again, it's good on good, that's why everybody watches it. They usually come down to one score and those details matter.
"Going into Week One you don't want to see a lot of sloppy football, self-inflicted wounds with turnovers and pre-snap penalties. We were pretty clean there, other than the one delay of game. I'd argue that helped us win."
The defensive struggles against the run were multiple in nature.
"We just didn't play well in a lot of areas," Austin conceded. "Gotta get them better calls, gotta get them where they need to be. When you looked at the film, we have to do a better job of getting off blocks, tackling, being in the right spots, giving the guys an opportunity to do that, that's where I come in.
"It happened. Every now and then you have a stinker like that. You don't like them but it gives us an opportunity to get back to work and be better at it this week."
And like the offense and special teams, the defense delivered what was needed when it was needed via a three-and-out that got the ball back for the offense with 3:13 remaining, and then a four-and-out on the Jets' final possession.
It was a game-ending sequence that met with Austin's expectations.
"We feel we have a good defense," he said. "Don't get me wrong, we did not play well but I thought our guys rose up in the moment when it was needed. We got going, we buckled up and were able to get two stops in a row. I think that's a testament to our guys and how they hung in there.
"It would have been real easy to just say 'we're gettin our (butts) kicked,' and 'bad things are happening,' and 'we're not doing this,' so on and so fourth, but they never did. That's what I really like about the group. I think we have a good, solid, mentally tough group which allowed them to continue to play and reach a high level when it was needed."
