For decades, the identity of the Pittsburgh Steelers has been their stout, hard-nosed defense. However, it has been a different story this year. Entering play Sunday, Pittsburgh was 4-3, but its usually reliable unit ranked 30th in total defense and 32nd in passing yards allowed per game. Steelers fans have not been pleased, and a group of fans decided to try a unique strategy to help get the defense going.

Frank Perman, supervisor of Perman Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Pittsburgh, decided to help organize a funeral for the Steelers defense before the game.

“I developed a casket a little over a year ago,” Perman told The Athletic in a phone interview. “It’s black and gold, and it’s for all the teams in Pittsburgh since they all have the same team colors. It’s got no logos or anything.”

Fans were seen praying at the casket in the Acrisure Stadium parking lot before the game, hoping they could change the mojo.

“We were laughing, doing prayers for the defense, hoping for a resurrection,” Perman said. “It was absolutely amazing.”

And, well, it worked. Pittsburgh picked up a huge 27-20 win over the 7-1 Indianapolis Colts on Sunday afternoon. The defense forced five turnovers and sacked quarterback Daniel Jones five times.

It turned out to be a celebratory day for Steelers fans. (Courtesy of Frank Perman)

Earlier this week, the casket came up in conversation with Perman’s friend.

“We were talking about it, and he said, ‘Hey, why don’t you take it to the Steelers game and have a funeral for the Steelers defense?’ I mean, they’ve been atrocious.”

The casket was featured on ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown” before the game and prompted a tweet from ESPN personality Pat McAfee. According to Perman, someone texted Pittsburgh defensive end Cam Heyward about the ceremony. It appears the group may have been inspired by the news.

How we feeling abaht this @ToneDigz @nickmaraldo @the1stSarge? https://t.co/mFpidf7Oj0

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) November 2, 2025

Throughout pregame festivities, Perman was approached by fans applauding what he had put together. They noted seeing him on TV and set out to find him upon arriving at the stadium.

“Steelers Nation is just as frustrated with what’s going on,” Perman said. “This isn’t what we hoped for. It’s not the defense we’ve known for all these years. There was almost no negative reaction, which shocked the heck out of me. I was expecting that. But the numbers don’t lie.”

There was even a special appearance at the casket.

“No kidding, Jesus came,” Perman said. “There was a Steelers fan dressed as Jesus. So, he’s blessing the casket.”

 

(Videos courtesy of Frank Perman)

Perman insists there was no malintent behind the ritual. It was supposed to be all in good fun, and he was pleased that other fans received it that way.

“When you do something that’s kind of edgy, some people can get pissed off,” Perman said. “We did it for fun. We didn’t do it to be miserable. That wasn’t the objective.”

With the dominant performance from Pittsburgh’s defense, it would be no surprise to see the fan base ask Perman to make the casket a new routine.