PITTSBURGH (AP) — When the Pittsburgh Steelers' defense holds its first meeting during a game week, the first message it receive is always the same: Smash the run.
It's a tenet that's been a part of the franchise's firmament for the vast majority of the last half-century and counting.
Not so much of late. The group that has long been used to doing the smashing is now getting smashed with alarming regularity.
The latest evidence came in a 31-17 loss to Seattle on Sunday that dropped Pittsburgh to 1-1 and made a fast-fading memory the good vibes generated by a stirring win over the New York Jets in the opener.
While the Seahawks’ rushing total wasn't gaudy — 117 yards on 29 attempts — Seattle was able to run when it had to, never more so than on Kenneth Walker III's 19-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter that sealed it.
The play wasn't designed to score. Facing third-and-goal and nursing a seven-point lead, the Seahawks were just trying to run out the clock. A handful of expertly executed blocks later, Walker was dancing into the end zone while securing his first 100-yard performance since the 2024 opener.
“It's the same issues that are rearing their head from last week,” outside linebacker T.J. Watt said.
Watt could have said “late last year," and he'd still have been right. The team that spent the offseason vowing to get more physical after being mauled down the stretch in 2024 — most embarrassingly in a blowout loss to Baltimore in the playoffs — has been unable to assert itself through two weeks.
In the opener, Breece Hall and Justin Fields found plenty of green grass while piling up 182 yards on the ground for the Jets. Pittsburgh brushed it off, vowing to improve against the Seahawks. And while they did statistically, the threat of the run allowed Sam Darnold to use play action effectively while throwing for 295 yards and two touchdowns.
“It's not fun football right now,” Watt said.
Particularly for one of the most dynamic defensive players in the league.
Watt was held without a sack for a seventh straight game. The inability to stop the run and put teams in more passing situations isn't helping. Neither is the massive attention Watt receives, no matter where his No. 90 lines up.
The attention is nothing new to the seven-time Pro Bowler. The lack of results and the “Groundhog Day”-ness of Pittsburgh's current situation — the Steelers have allowed at least 100 yards rushing in seven of their last 11 games — is.
“We need to look in the mirror and we need to turn over every stone we possibly can because this can't continue to happen,” Watt said.
Not if the Steelers want this season to end any differently than last season anyway.
Maybe we should change this one to “what should be working.”
The Steelers haven't yet asked Aaron Rodgers to stretch the field much, but the 41-year-old offered proof on a busted play that it's still in his arsenal when he unleashed a pass to tight end Pat Freiermuth in the first half that traveled more than 40 yards before smacking off a diving Freiermuth's fingers.
The high draft-pick-laden offensive line isn't exactly giving Rodgers time to look deep. He's absorbed seven sacks in two weeks after being dropped three times by a Seattle defense that a week earlier got to San Francisco's Brock Purdy only once. The most sacked player in NFL history (Rodgers has taken 578 during his 21-year career) needs to be kept out of harm's way.
Pittsburgh paid running back Jaylen Warren starter-like money a few days before the opener but didn't exactly treat him as one against the Jets, when he split time with Kenny Gainwell. Warren received the bulk of the work on Sunday, and he responded with 134 yards of offense on 18 touches, including a 65-yard catch-and-run that was symbolic of the fury with which the former undrafted rookie free agent approaches his job.
When the Steelers drafted running back Kaleb Johnson in the third round, his size (6-foot-1, 225 pounds) and his pedigree suggested he would be a threat to challenge Warren for the starting spot sooner rather than later. Instead, Johnson may be in Tomlin's doghouse indefinitely after gifting the Seahawks a touchdown when the rookie opted not to field a kickoff that bounded through his hands and into the end zone. Seattle's George Holani fell on it for a stunning score.
Outside linebacker Alex Highsmith and defensive tackle Isaiahh Loudermilk both exited with ankle injuries in the first half, and cornerback Joey Porter Jr. missed the second game of his career with a hamstring injury. Rookie defensive tackle Derrick Harmon's sprained knee can't heal fast enough.
508 — Career touchdown passes for Rodgers, tying him with former teammate Brett Favre for fourth on the NFL's all-time list. Next up is Peyton Manning at 539, which might be a bit of a long shot over the next 15 games if Rodgers can't get better protection.
Try to fix the run defense in time for a trip to New England (1-1), which had a productive day on the ground (122 yards rushing) in a win over Miami on Sunday.
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Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) gets past Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Logan Lee (91) on a touchdown run during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J Puskar)
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt speaks during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J Puskar)
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s government is expected to approve a “mega” Chinese Embassy close to London’s financial district after years of controversy and political wrangling over the potential security risks it poses to the U.K.
Lawmakers from across the spectrum have urged planning officials to reject China’s application for the new embassy. Critics fear the proposed new building, on a huge site close to London’s financial district and crucial data cables, will be used as a base for espionage. Others say the supersized embassy — set to be the biggest Chinese Embassy in Europe — will pose a heightened threat of surveillance and intimidation to Chinese dissidents in exile.
The decision was initially slated for October, but it was repeatedly postponed after multiple allegations of Chinese spying and political interference piled pressure on the British government.
British media have reported that the decision to approve the embassy will come this week, ahead of Prime Minister Keir Starmer's expected trip to China. The closely watched visit would be the first made by a British prime minister since 2018.
A final decision on the embassy is expected by Jan. 20, the deadline set by the government.
Here's a look at why the embassy has been the focus of protests and Sino-British tensions for years:
The proposed embassy at Royal Mint Court — the former site of the U.K.’s coin maker, near the Tower of London — will cover about 20,000 square meters (215,278 square feet) and replace several Chinese official buildings across London.
Critics say the new site sits too close to underground fiber optic cables carrying sensitive financial information between London’s two main financial districts.
Conservative Party lawmaker Alicia Kearns said that risks handing over access to data that would give China’s government “a launchpad for economic warfare against our nation.” She cited news reports that the building complex would include 208 secret basement rooms close to the data cables.
Dissidents have also been among hundreds of people who have protested the plans, saying a mega-embassy housing large numbers of officials would further China’s repression of activists abroad.
Lawmakers from the governing Labour Party who oppose the plan say concerns include “the recent track record of Chinese espionage cases, interference activities and issuing of bounties against U.K.-based Hong Kongers.”
The site was bought by China’s government for 225 million pounds ($301 million) in 2018, but plans for the embassy have been delayed since.
Local officials rejected the initial application over concerns that the embassy would attract many large protests, affecting the safety of residents and tourists. China resubmitted its proposals after the Labour government took power last year.
Bronwen Maddox, director of the London think tank Chatham House, said she believed Britain's government should approve the proposed mega-embassy “given that MI5 and MI6 (U.K. intelligence agencies) have said they are not worried about the city cables underneath it."
“I guess that you could see why there is cause for concern, but what I think the government should be much tougher on is what exactly is China going to do with that embassy, never mind the building; what about the people in it? Why does it need so many? What are they going to do?"
China has complained about the seven-year delay in approving the project, saying the U.K. was “constantly complicating and politicizing the matter.”
“The development scheme of the new Chinese Embassy is of high quality and has been highly recognized by local professional bodies,” the Chinese embassy said in a statement in October. “The application complies with diplomatic practice and local regulations and procedures.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian has warned that if the embassy isn’t approved, “the consequences arising therefrom shall be borne by the U.K. side.”
Recent high-profile cases involving alleged Chinese espionage have raised alarms about the embassy.
In November, the domestic intelligence agency, MI5, issued an alert to lawmakers warning that Chinese agents were making “targeted and widespread” efforts to recruit and cultivate them using LinkedIn or cover companies.
Authorities believe the alleged “headhunters” were trying to gain access to sensitive information about Parliament and Britain’s government.
Beijing has strongly denied the claims, calling them “pure fabrication and malicious slander.”
Earlier, Britain’s government faced questions on whether it had interfered in the trial of two alleged Chinese spies in order to preserve good ties with China.
Former parliamentary researcher Christopher Cash and academic Christopher Berry were charged last year with spying for Beijing. But their trial collapsed at the last minute because the U.K. government refused to brand China a threat to national security, the country’s chief prosecutor said.
Facing criticism that he is not taking a tough enough stance on the security risks, Starmer has stressed that while protecting national security is non-negotiable, Britain needs to keep up diplomatic dialogue and cooperation with the Asian superpower.
“This is not a question of balancing economic and security considerations. We don’t trade off security in one area, for a bit more economic access somewhere else,” he has said.
Last year, Starmer said Chinese President Xi Jinping personally raised the matter during a phone call.
Opposition lawmaker Priti Patel derided Starmer as “Beijing’s useful idiot in Britain.”
“Starmer’s ‘reset’ with Beijing is a naive one-way street, which puts Britain at risk while Beijing gets everything it wants,” she said.
Associated Press writer Danica Kirka contributed to this report.
A general view of Royal Mint Court where is planning site for the new London Chinese embassy, near London's financial district, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A general view of Royal Mint Court where is planning site for the new London Chinese embassy, near London's financial district, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
FILE - Protesters hold umbrellas, placards, and flags as they demonstrate against the proposed building of a new Chinese embassy, and to mark the 11th year of the Umbrella Revolution in Hong Kong, in London, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Joanna Chan, file)
FILE - Protesters hold umbrellas, placards, and flags as they demonstrate against the proposed building of a new Chinese embassy, and to mark the 11th year of the Umbrella Revolution in Hong Kong, in London, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Joanna Chan, file)
