It doesn't get much worse for the winless Steelers, but T.J. Watt has a strategy to turn things around.
"Stop the damn run," the linebacker told reporters Tuesday. "Number one. Stop the run."
On the one hand, Pittsburgh's defense ranks second in the NFL in forced turnovers this season. On the other, the Steelers have the league's fifth-worst run defense and are 28th in rushing yards allowed. The team has allowed more yards each week, giving the Patriots 99 in the opener and the Seahawks 151 in Week 2 before surrendering 168 to the 49ers on Sunday.
With a Monday night division showdown against the Bengals looming, Watt has his concerns about the Steelers facing a must-win scenario.
"It’s too early for Cincinnati," Watt said. "We’re focused on ourselves right now. We’re 0-3. We’re not in any place to look ahead. We’ve got to look, right now, at who we are and how to fix what’s happening."
And with Mason Rudolph preparing to make just his second career start, the second-year quarterback will need some help from the defense to keep things balanced as he continues to adjust.
"You have a young quarterback in there, a first time starter, you want to do anything to make his job a lot easier," Watt said. "Any way we can do that defensively, we're definitely going to try to do that. We just gotta do more of it."
Hear from T.J. Watt, Stephon Tuitt, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Jaylen Samuels & Diontae Johnson about Sunday's game and looking ahead to our matchup vs. Cincinnati. pic.twitter.com/V3RZ67ulm2
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 24, 2019
It could be the perfect opportunity — and morale booster — for the Steelers to expose Cincinnati's flawed offense that is last in the NFL in rushing yards per game (42.0). Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton has also struggled to stay consistent and will be without wide receiver A.J. Green for the fourth-straight week.
One team will leave Pittsburgh a winner when the 0-3 rivals face off at 8:15 p.m. ET Monday.