The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t stop the run very well Sunday against the Buffalo Bills. In Week 14, the Baltimore Ravens will test the Steelers run defense again, and Pittsburgh will face that test without defensive lineman Derrick Harmon.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin stated in his weekly Tuesday press conference that Harmon will be out again on December 7. This will be the second consecutive week the team will be without Harmon.
With the rookie defensive lineman sidelined versus the Bills, the Steelers allowed 249 rushing yards.
That wasn’t the first time the Steelers run defense played poorly when Harmon didn’t dress. In three contests without the rookie this season, Tomlin’s defense has yielded 548 rushing yards.
That’s 182.7 rushing yards allowed per game. Incredibly, that’s almost twice as much as the 96 rushing yards the Steelers have yielded in nine contests with Harmon this season.
Derrick Harmon Out vs. Ravens With Knee Injury
Harmon and the Steelers received a serious injury scare with the rookie during the preseason. But the knee injury he sustained knocked him out for only the first two games.
However, Harmon is now set to miss back-to-back games again because of a new knee injury. The defensive lineman suffered the latest injury on November 23 versus the Chicago Bears.
The Steelers have had subpar run defense performances with Harmon in the lineup as well. But over the rookie’s past five starts, Pittsburgh has allowed 93.6 rushing yards per game.
That includes a game where the Steelers held Jonathan Taylor and the Indianapolis Colts to just 55 rushing yards.
The Bills bounced so many of their running plays versus the Steelers to the perimeter in Week 13. So, it’s probably not fair to blame all of Pittsburgh’s run defense struggles in the matchup on Harmon’s absence.
But without Harmon, the Steelers still allowed more rushing yards at home in any game in more than 50 years. And on Sunday, the Steelers will face a Ravens offense that ran all over them in the teams’ playoff matchup last January.
Baltimore racked up 299 rushing yards against the Steelers in the AFC wild card round. That loss was part of why Pittsburgh drafted Harmon at No. 21 overall in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
How the Steelers Replace Harmon in Week 14
Without Harmon on November 30, fellow rookie defensive lineman Yahya Black played a season-high 46 defensive snaps versus Buffalo. Veteran Esezi Otomewo also played 22 defensive snaps, which was eight more than his previous season high.
More than likely, the Steelers will turn to those two defenders again to slow down Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson.
If the Steelers want to try something different to replace Harmon, they have a couple other options. 2024 sixth-rounder Logan Lee has been a healthy scratch since Week 3. The Steelers could give him another opportunity versus the Ravens.
Pittsburgh could also play former third-rounder Brodric Martin more. Martin played 10 defensive snaps in his Steelers debut versus the Bills.
The Steelers claimed Martin off the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad in early November.
None of those options, though, are as good as Derrick Harmon. Without him, the Steelers could be vulnerable against the run again in a matchup that will go a long way to determining first place in the AFC North.
If there was any good news Tuesday, Tomlin didn’t rule out any other players for Week 14. That includes starting inside linebacker Patrick Queen, who didn’t play in the second half versus the Bills.
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