Steelers' No. 2-ranked run defense has been superb, but can it slow down Colts' tandem?

It’s a defensive strategy the Pittsburgh Steelers used to suffocate the Minnesota Vikings when they won their first Super Bowl championship 50 years ago.

The philosophy, which dates back to the days of leather helmets, has carried through tenures of Chuck Noll to Bill Cowher to Mike Tomlin.

Stop the run.

“It always starts with stopping the run first,” All-Pro outside linebacker T.J. Watt said, “and then that lets us pin their ears back.”

Off to the fourth 3-0 start in Tomlin’s 18 seasons and second in five years, the Steelers are defending the run better than almost everyone else in the NFL, and it’s a reason the Steelers have allowed the fewest points in the league.

As the Steelers prepare to face the 1-2 Indianapolis Colts — and former rushing champion Jonathan Taylor — on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium, they are holding opponents to 71.3 rushing yards per game. That is tied with the Minnesota Vikings for the second-best run defense in the league. Only the Baltimore Ravens have allowed fewer rushing yards.

Bijan Robinson, coming off a promising rookie season in Atlanta, was held to 68 yards in the season opener. Javonte Williams, the Denver Broncos’ lead back, had 17 yards the next week. And J.K. Dobbins, who entered Week 3 as the NFL rushing leader, was limited to 44 yards last Sunday.

Stopping the run has been the hallmark of Steelers’ championship teams. The three times the Steelers reached the Super Bowl this century, they finished in the top 3 in fewest rushing yards allowed.

“It’s a good start,” defensive captain Cameron Heyward said. “There are still some things we can clean up — boneheaded things like us having 10 guys on the field. It’s an 11-man group that has to get the job done.”

That first-quarter gaffe against the Chargers led to a 13-yard gain by Dobbins. Otherwise, the Steelers didn’t allow a run longer than 8 yards in the 20-10 victory, and they haven’t given up one longer than 16 yards on the season.

A year ago, the Steelers ranked No. 19 in defending the run, and they yielded an average of 115 yards per game. It was just three seasons ago that the Steelers were last in rush defense when opponents averaged 146 yards on the ground.

Granted, the sample size is small, but the Steelers are allowing half as many rushing yards as they did in 2021.

“Guys are getting off blocks,” Heyward said. “There haven’t been a lot of mental mistakes — besides 10 guys on the field — and I think the defensive backs are doing a good job of going downhill and tackling.”

Heyward’s return to health after being slowed by groin injuries last season can’t be understated. Fellow interior defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi also isn’t hindered by nagging injuries that limited his effectiveness in his first two seasons with the Steelers. Keeanu Benton, in his second season, is an emerging force in the middle of the line. Montravius Adams and Isaiah Loudermilk have plugged holes in complementary roles.

“I was talking to Cam and I said I’ve never played behind a defensive line like this,” rookie inside linebacker Payton Wilson said. “It’s a different world. Those guys are not only taking up the whole offensive line, they are making plays while they do that. It’s an amazing feeling when you flow to the ball, and the offensive line isn’t even touching you. That says a lot about your d-line.”

The free-agent signing of Patrick Queen has helped. He has played every defensive snap through three games, and after a feeling-out process in the first two weeks, he led the Steelers with eight tackles against the Chargers. Elandon Roberts and Wilson effectively have manned the other spot.

Then there is the secondary. New strong safety DeShon Elliott had a team-high nine tackles, including a pivotal stop on Williams for a 4-yard loss, against Denver and is the team’s top tackler. Free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick continues to be dependable against the run and is second in tackles.

Even the cornerbacks are getting into the act. Joey Porter Jr., who wasn’t known for his tackling as a rookie, brought down Dobbins for a 3-yard loss.

“I think one of the big areas that gets overlooked is our corners are doing a really good job of tackling,” defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said. “I think early last year we gave up some big plays when the ball was bounced outside, and we didn’t get it corralled and on the ground. I think all three levels are doing a really good job.”

The defense will step up in class on Sunday when they try to contain Taylor. For all the promise that Robinson, Williams and Dobbins have shown in their careers, none has accumulated a 1,000-yard season. Taylor had 1,811 in 2021 when he led the NFL in rushing.

“The thing that really separates him from a lot of backs is once he sees a crease, he can take that thing the whole way,” Austin said. “He has unbelievable acceleration, and you see it on tape. When he hits a crease, all of a sudden he’s in the clear. We have to do a really good job of minimizing holes, not giving him things that are downhill.”

Taylor was injured and didn’t play when the two teams met in December at Lucas Oil Stadium. His absence was hardly noticed, as the Colts gouged the Steelers for 170 yards on the ground in a 30-13 victory.

This year, he is coming off back-to-back 100-yard rushing efforts.

“It’s getting hats to the ball,” Watt said. “Everything we talk about is not playing superhero ball. It’s guys doing their job, not swimming backside of gaps. He’s a slasher. He can lower his shoulder. He can be patient and juke outside when it looks like it’s bottled up.

“It’s going to take getting everyone to the ball.”

Complicating matters for the run defense is the presence of mobile quarterback Anthony Richardson, who is averaging 6.5 yards per carry and has carried 18 times in three weeks. It doesn’t help that Richardson measures 6-foot-4, 244 pounds.

“He’s a big man who is agile,” Austin said. “He’s strong. You’ll see him on some designed quarterback runs, and guys will have an angle on him, and he’ll beat them to the sideline. He’s unique in that way.”

If the Steelers can stop the run, they can force Richardson to be one-dimensional, which can allow the defense to — in Watt’s words — pin their ears back. As he enters his eighth career start, Richardson has been prone to mistakes. He’s completing fewer than 50% of his passes, and his six interceptions are most in the NFL.

It’s a matchup that will be decided up front — just the way Heyward likes it.

“If you want to run the ball on us, it has to come through us,” he said. “It’s the way our group rolls.”

It has been that way for the Steelers for the past 50 years, since they held the Vikings to 21 rushing yards on 17 attempts in Super Bowl IX. Even a rookie such as Wilson knows the importance.

“That’s our identity here,” he said. “We don’t want people running ball on us.”