The Pittsburgh Steelers' run defense's performance last week does not bode well for this week's game.
The Buffalo Bills rushed for 249 yards last Sunday while beating the Steelers 26-7. The Steelers visit the Ravens on Sunday in Baltimore, with first place in the AFC North on the line. When the division rivals met in the playoffs last season, the Ravens had a whopping 299 yards rushing in a 28-14 win.
The Steelers are 28th in the NFL in rushing defense this season, allowing 117.7 yards per game. In nine of their 12 games, the Steelers have allowed teams to rush for at least 94 yards.
"We obviously didn't get what we wanted done last week, and so we go back to the drawing board," Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said. "I think that overall, we've been pretty solid in the run area, but we came up short last week, and so we get back to the drawing board and see what we can do better this week, knowing that they're a team that likes to run the ball."
James Cook III led the Bills with 144 yards on 32 carries and said the thrust of his team's game plan was to run against the Steelers' perimeter. However, Austin was quick to avoid placing all the blame on one area of the defense.
"You don't have to know a lot to know that we didn't play like we wanted to," Austin said. "To put it all on the corners would probably not be the right thing to do. There are a lot of things that go into making up a big play and how a big play happens. It was a little bit of everything. I thought we could have been better on the edge, in terms of how we set it, and not making the corner so short. Obviously, we could have shown up a little bit sooner and been there faster."
The Steelers now face the Ravens, who shredded the defense in the teams' previous meeting in January. Derek Henry led the charge with 156 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries while quarterback Lamar Jackson ran for 81 yards on 15 carries.
The Ravens are fourth in the NFL in rushing offense this year at 136.8 yards a game. Henry has 931 yards and 10 TDs.
"We're talking about a legendary runner of this generation in Derrick Henry," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "Although Derrick has great speed, and when he gets into the secondary, he's a problem, you really want to work hard to minimize his downhill. Because when he gets downhill on you, you really feel it. That's when he starts bumper-car-ing and bouncing off of people, and you want to eliminate that component from his game."