The Steelers defeated the New England Patriots 21-14 in Week 3 and are now up against the Minnesota Vikings in Dublin, Ireland, as 1.5-point underdogs. Experts think the Pittsburgh Steelers have an uphill climb next week. The defense of Pittsburgh continues to question if they will be able to keep pace with the more dynamic Vikings’ offense. The Steelers’ defense continues to get exposed. Their five turnovers in the win over the Patriots owed more to New England’s mistakes than Pittsburgh’s playmaking.

​Pittsburgh Steelers former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger did not hesitate to express his reservations regarding the game on Channel Seven. Looking at the Pittsburgh close victory against New England, he started, raising concerns about Minnesota’s quarterbacking situation. “I’m actually more concerned that Carson Wentz is playing than if JJ was playing. ”

He continued, ”I think this is going to be a harder game with Carson Wentz than it would be with JJ. He’s got weapons. He can still move enough, and he can make throws when he needs to. Defense just absolutely went nuts last week against Cincinnati.”

​Wentz entered as a replacement for J.J.McCarthy, who suffered a high ankle sprain in the Week 2 game against the Falcons. Wentz guided the team to their highest-scoring offense of the season, going 173 yards and two touchdowns without any turnovers during a 48-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. His performance was utilized to make the potential challenge to the Pittsburgh defense next week even greater.

The Steelers’ red-zone defense is a major concern, allowing touchdowns on 64% of opponent trips. Through three games, opponents have reached the red zone 11 times, scoring seven touchdowns and a field goal, with only a missed kick and two Patriots turnovers keeping the numbers from looking worse.

​Even following last week’s Pittsburgh win, Roethlisberger made an honest prediction for the upcoming game. “I’m still a little nervous about this game. I’ll be honest. I’m saying we’re losing. I have a fear that our offense is not going to do enough… I don’t think our offense will do enough this week,” he asserted.

Aaron Rodgers has struggled badly under pressure this season. Per PFF, he’s been pressured on 30% of his 96 drop-backs, completing just 6 of 22 passes for 146 yards, one touchdown, and two picks. His 27.4 offensive grade in those situations ranks dead last in the NFL. The Steelers’ offense has made some flashes of production, but facing a quarterback like Wentz puts Roethlisberger and the coaching staff in a bind.

​The Steelers defense will need to silence Wentz if they want to outshine the Vikings. The backup quarterback is 1-1 as a starter in his career against the Steelers. His last start vs. the Steelers was in 2020, when the Eagles lost 38-29 at Acrisure Stadium. Wentz went 20-of-35 for 258 yards (57.1%) with two touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 75.7. Time alone will tell if he can top his Week 3 showing against the Bengals, but the Steelers will at least hope not. However, Big Ben is also worried about the Steelers’ defense.

​Roethlisberger on Steelers defense

​Roethlisberger also criticized the lack of creativity in some of the defense’s play-calling for Pittsburgh. “Maybe the coach designed some sort of a defense there because he had the time to draw something up or kind of calm it down. I guess it would go back to how we’ve talked about a lot of times in the show—when we would go no-huddle, you’d get the defense, they’re very vanilla. They can’t draw up unique things,” he explained.

​The defensive woes persisted even as they had their turnovers, especially in the red zone. Drake Maye, quarterback for New England, put an end to a 17-play, 92-yard drive by throwing an interception in the end zone with only 12 seconds remaining in the first half.

Big Ben wanted to witness more aggressive and innovative defensive schemes. “To me, without studying our defense, it seems like we’re a pretty vanilla defense as it is. It doesn’t feel to me like we’re getting a lot of unique pressures, unique defenses.’’

​Roethlisberger pointed out the way turnovers doubled defensive worries in the Week 3 win. “The game shouldn’t have been that close with five turnovers for sure. Now, if it was five to four turnover ratio, there’s only one difference. You’re talking four of plus four. That’s crazy,” he said.

Before this Ben has pointed out Mike Tomlin for his roster, stating, ”Man, they gave up almost 400 yards… two weeks in a row….”

​The second half also included more Patriot mistakes—Stevenson and Antonio Gibson each fumbled on New England’s first two possessions of the third quarter, including a turnover at the 2-yard line of Pittsburgh and another close to midfield—illuminating that Pittsburgh’s victory rested most heavily on errors by their opponents instead of a constantly airtight defense.

​Pittsburgh’s next encounter in Dublin will challenge not only the Steelers’ defense but also its capacity to adapt under pressure. While Wentz has shown he can direct an effective and opportunistic offense, the alarm bell fired by Roethlisberger can be a cruel reality for the team if defensive innovation and play are not enhanced.

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