The Steelers open the 2025 season against the New York Jets on Sunday in a matchup of teams who've swapped opening-day starting quarterbacks from a year ago.
However, it was run defense that was Coach Mike Tomlin's primary focus at his weekly press conference Tuesday.
"You've got to start first with their running game," Tomlin said near the top of his weekly press conference Tuesday. "I think Coach (Aaron) Glenn has been very transparent about their desire to run the football and their commitment to do so, and so that has our attention as we prepare."
Quarterback Justin Fields is a key part of the Jets' ground attack. Fields' 17-game average is 853 yards and averages 6.0 yards per carry.
"He's stronger than most mobile quarterbacks," Tomlin said of Fields. "That's a component of his game that I think is unique. He's a really talented guy physically. He's not easy to bring down. He's got a real solid base about him. He's big. And so, when I think about what might be different, I think about his unique physical skill set. But in terms of schematics, I don't know the things that they do are going to be uniquely different from others. I think there are some global things that people do in that area."
The nature of the Jets' running game will be handed down, as Tomlin pointed out, by new head coach Aaron Glenn and new offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand. Both came over from the Detroit Lions, where Glenn was the defensive coordinator and Engstrand was the passing-game coordinator. While the Lions achieved new heights with their passing offense, their run game finished sixth in the NFL with the two-headed attack of Jahmyr Gibbs (1,412 yards) and David Montgomery (775 yards). The Jets also have a pair of talented backs to support Glenn's desire and commitment to run the ball.
"They've got a deep and talented backfield led by (Breece) Hall and (Braelon) Allen," Tomlin said. "If you look at the history of their staff, those two represent maybe what Gibbs and Montgomery represented to the Detroit Lions, so we've been looking at it through that lens.
"Make no mistake. They're both capable. Allen really burst on to the scene a year ago as a rookie out of Wisconsin. He's got a downhill run demeanor and style. The pile always seems to fall in the direction he desires it to. Breece Hall is multi-talented. He can run inside, he can run outside, he had a lot of explosion plays a year ago on the perimeter. He's good out of the backfield in the passing game. ... He broke a checkdown for 57 yards on us last year that kind of changed the complexion of that game early on. While we had already had an anticipation of his talents in that area, he was still able to deliver."
While the Jets ranked 31st in rushing last year, their new coaching staff and mobile quarterback are intent on, and certainly capable of, improving that statistic. And they'll certainly want to test a Steelers front that will be without first-round draft pick Derrick Harmon.
Without Harmon, the Steelers will depend once again on Cameron Heyward and Keeanu Benton in the interior, with preseason star and fifth-round draft pick Yahya Black the only personnel change in the front seven from last season.
"It's going to be a committee of people," Tomlin said of replacing Harmon. "But I'd imagine it'd be a committee of people if he were available. We generally play a lot of D-linemen, particularly early in the season due to lack of conditioning and potential heat."
Tomlin was asked about any other potential changes to his run defense.
"I don't tote last year's bags," Tomlin said. "That's just an agenda that needs to be addressed this year, in 2025. Quarterback mobility and the designed run-game component is a component of today's game. We've done things at a lot of levels to further strengthen ourselves: the acquisition of Derrick Harmon and Yahya Black being two components of it, but others. And we certainly have some schematic things up our sleeve that I won't disclose in this setting. I just think that each and every year, particularly in today's game, the way it's trending, quarterback mobility, the designed run game, the situationally designed run game associated with it, is something that 31 other defenses better be ready to address and plan for as well."
