Coming into the 2021 season, everyone knew that the Pittsburgh Steelers' offense would be less than ideal. Ben Roethlisberger is very close to retirement, and it was showing in his play. Everyone expected the Steelers to hang their hat on the defensive side of things, especially with T.J Watt in the fold.

Nobody would've expected their offense to be THIS bad, though. Against the Minnesota Vikings, the Steelers could only manage… 2.5 yards per play, or less than eight feet. Yikes. (via Sal Capaccio)

However, the real star of the show here isn't the Steelers' putrid offense. Rather, it's their putrid defense which has taken the spotlight, which allowed the Vikings an insane 8.1 yards per play. For context, the Los Angeles Rams currently lead the league in yards per play with 6.2 yards. Depending on your perspective, that's a testament to Pittsburgh's terrible defense without Watt (who was taken out of the game earlier) or the Vikings' stellar run game.

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With Vikings running back Dalvin Cook making all the headlines with his stellar play, it's likely to be a combination of both. Cook absolutely obliterated the helpless Steelers defense, as he ran for over 100+ yards… in a single half. It becomes even more impressive when you remember that Cook was almost ruled out of this game due to a shoulder injury.

Still, Cook cooking up a masterpiece shouldn't be an excuse for the Steelers defense. After all, this is the same defense that allowed Joe Mixon and Cincinnati to tear them up a few weeks prior. With Watt possibly out for a few weeks, it may be time for Mike Tomlin and the front office to make some moves in the offseason.