Alex Highsmith Rips Steelers Run Defense: ‘It’s Not the Standard’

HOUSTON — The Pittsburgh Steelers did not face a vaunted rushing attack on Sunday, but were still gashed on the ground by Dameon Pierce and the Houston Texans, with the team’s inability to dominate a banged-up Texans offensive line the primary cause for their 30-6 loss to Houston on Sunday to fall to 2-2 on the season.

Steelers outside linebacker Alex Highsmith broke down the problems and what must be done for the Steelers’ defense — which sees itself as a potentially top-of-the-league unit — to rebound.

“They were doing a good job of staying on schedule, but it just came down to us not being able to stop the run,” Highsmith said. “We’ve got to be able to do that. I feel like we took a step last week and a step back this week.”

San Francisco 49ers All-Pro Christian McCaffrey ran 22 times for 152 yards in the opener. Nich Chubb and Jerome Ford raced for a combined 170 yards on 26 tries for the Browns in Week 2. Last week, it was Josh Jacobs toting the rock for the Raiders, and he was held to 62 yards on 17 carries. But this week, it was more of the same, with Dameon Pierce rushing 24 times for 81 yards.

“We just honestly haven’t done good enough so far,” Highsmith said. “It’s not the standard. And so we’ve got to live up to that. It starts next week.”

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