Oct 6, 2017 5 min read

PITTSBURGH – It’s not a good time for the Steelers to be coming off a game in which they allowed 220 rushing yards rushing in a loss to the Chicago Bears.

The Steelers, who play Sunday at the Baltimore Ravens, could make matters worse for themselves if they again have issues stopping the run.

While the Ravens (2-1) rank last in the NFL in passing yards (121.3 yards per game), no team has rushed the ball more often than Baltimore.

The Ravens are churning out 142 yards rushing per game and doing so without a feature running back. Baltimore is the only team in the league with three rushers who have 100 or more yards. They are Terrance West, Javorius “Buck” Allen and Alex Collins.

If the Steelers (2-1) are going to win in Baltimore for the first time since 2012, then they’re going to need to shore up the run defense. And that means being better against outside stretch zone runs, something that was a major issue against the Bears.

The Steelers are angry about how poorly they played in Chicago.

“I don’t think anyone is exempt to it,” said defensive coordinator Keith Butler. “If I was coaching outside backers, I’d be (ticked) off. If I was coaching inside linebackers, I’d be (ticked) off. If I was coaching the defensive line, I’d be (ticked) off, and the secondary also. All of us are (ticked) off about how we played.”

The outside zone runs are meant to stretch a defense from sideline to sideline and force it to open a gap, allowing the running back to pick his hole. The Steelers, who typically employ an aggressive defense, have struggled at times against that scheme as it forces the defense to be patient.

“It does,” said inside linebacker Ryan Shazier. “We just have to do our job and make tackles. We missed too many tackles against the Bears.”

Missed tackles are not an official NFL statistic, but the Steelers missed at least 10 against the Bears, with Shazier and inside linebacker Vince Williams each having a rough day. It’s something they must correct against the Ravens, who have had the outside zone stretch as part of their rushing attack for years. The Steelers expect to see plenty of it again.

“You’re going to see ot for a month or two, unless you show you can stop it,” said defensive end Stephon Tuitt. “I’m really confident that we will be able to stop it. It’s not like this is just any team. This is the Ravens.”

Tuitt missed the past two games with an arm injury. He was a late scratch against the Bears because the Steelers wanted to make sure he would be completely recovered from the injury suffered against Cleveland in the season opener.

Tuitt and defensive end Cam Heyward are the key to the Steelers being able to stop the outside zone play by pushing the opposing linemen into the backfield and disrupting the flow to the outside.

“We can really shut that down with the guards. We make the running back cut that back super early,” Tuitt said. “We put that in and had success. You started to see that zone running cut down and it went more to the perimeter. It went more and more to big tight end bodies or extra linemen to try to block me and Cam.”

If the Steelers can stop Baltimore’s running game, then they will have a great shot to win. Baltimore ranks last in the NFL in passing. However, if they don’t fix what was a problem, then Butler is probably going to be ticked off again next week.

“We weren’t sound in what we were doing,” Butler said. “I think we’re all working towards getting back to where we were. We were all fundamentally sound in terms of making tackles and getting off blocks.”

Being patient and not overaggressive will be the key.

“If you’re overaggressive, the running back has the ability to get five or six (yards),” said Tuitt. “If you have have one person out of their gap, that burst can turn into 20-plus yards. It’s a unique play because it’s stretching out the defense, hoping somebody gets out of their gap. If you’re not detailed in your work, you can have the type of day Chicago had against us.”

Odds and end zones

Wide receiver Martavis Bryant missed his second day of practice Thursday because of illness. Guard Ramon Foster (thumb) also missed his second consecutive day of practice. … Limited on Thursday were safeties Sean Davis (ankle) and Mike Mitchell (hamstring), linebacker Bud Dupree (shoulder), offensive tackle Marcus Gilbert (hamstring) and tight end Jesse James (shoulder). … Le’Veon Bell and Ben Roethlisberger each returned to practice after sitting out Wednesday.