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The Pittsburgh Steelers fell to the Los Angeles Chargers with a final score of 41-37 on Sunday Night Football. QB Ben Roethlisberger made his much-needed return and went 28 of 44 for 273 yards and three touchdowns. The future first ballot Hall of Famer actually hasn’t thrown an interception in almost 2 months, dating back to the Week 4 matchup against the Green Bay Packers. RB Najee Harris finished the game with an underwhelming 12 carries, 39 yards, and a touchdown; the Steelers just fell behind in the early part of the third quarter, Harris missed some time with a concussion scare, so the team had to up the pace and rely on the passing game. WR Diontae Johnson led the way in receiving yards once again with 7 receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown. The Steelers move to 5-4-1 on the season and are on the road again, but a little closer to home to take on their AFC North foe, the Cincinnati Bengals this afternoon. These two faced off in Week 3 and the Bengals took the win 24-10 in Pittsburgh. The Steelers look to return the favor by stealing a victory on the road. Before we go into that matchup, let’s talk about what transpired last week against the Chargers.
1) Next Men Up
Last week the Steelers were down several starters on both sides of the ball, but the defense faced the larger deficit in the injury column. The Steelers defense allowed 41 points and you could tell this defense was missing a few key pieces. The Steelers were without CB Joe Haden, OLB TJ Watt, FS Minkah Fitzpatrick, and DE Isaiahh Loudermilk. Right in the most crucial parts of the game for both sides of the ball. The Steelers were blitzing at a much larger percentage than they have all season, so even though the Steelers got to Herbert twice on 8 hurries, the absence of Watt was felt. In the end, the Steelers defense gave up a 53- yard pass to WR Mike Williams down the sideline, to ultimately be the dagger. The Steelers ran a slot blitz and both CB Cam Sutton and FS Tre Norwood tried to get a trap interception and it backfired. I have to agree with Chris Collinsworth on this one, “That would’ve never happened with Fitzpatrick in the game.” He just helps eliminate those types of plays. The Steelers offense still had a chance with 2:09 remaining and the absence on the offensive side of the ball was felt as well. The first play after the Williams score resulted in a Roethlisberger sack when they ran a stunt right over top of LG Kevin Dotson’s replacement, Joe Haeg. The very next play, Chargers defensive star, Joey Bosa ran right through Haeg for another sack. After an incomplete pass and a delay of game penalty, the Steelers faced 4th and 32; there’s just not many plays in the playbook to convert that in that situation.
2) Keep Pressure on Justin Herbert, Don’t allow the Chargers to take the top off!
This subtitle really should’ve read “Keep Pressure and contain on Justin Herbert…” The QB led his team in rushing on Sunday night. He had 9 carries for 90 yards and he always seemed to take off on crucial downs. He also went 30 of 41 for 382 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. He threw for a 9.3 yards per throw average. Alex Highsmith stepped up in a huge way and produced in the absence of Watt. He totaled 6 tackles (3 solos), 1.5 sacks, 1 tackle for loss, and 3 QB hits. At the end of the day, Herbert killed the Steelers’ defense on the ground and in the air.
3) Communication is key
Even though the Steelers’ offense scored on 7 out of 11 possessions, with 1 ending the first half, 1 punt, and 2 ending on failed 4th down conversions, they settled for field goals 3 times while in the red-zone on two of those occasions. After going down 17, the Steelers’ offense gained some momentum after Miles Killebrew blocked a punt to set the offense up at the Chargers’ 3-yard line. Harris punched a touchdown in from the 1 on that drive. That started a somewhat crazy kind of back and forth between the two offenses. Eventually the Steelers tied the game after being set up with great field position by a pass batted in the air from DE Cam Heyward and intercepted by CB Sutton. For a week of virtual meetings, minus your starting left guard and heavily- utilized rookie RB Harris missing some game time with a concussion scare, Roethlisberger had the offense clicking pretty well.
1) Guess Who’s Back?
With missing last week for different reasons, the Steelers’ defense will welcome back All-Pros OLB Watt and FS Fitzpatrick. The Steelers will also get back defensive lineman Loudermilk as well, this is important because the Steelers’ defensive line is wearing thin. Look for the impact to be felt early on by these two. I’d like to see a splash play from either player or both, early on. The Steelers must get pressure on QB Joe Burrow, as they failed to do so in the Week 3 matchup. It should be noted that Watt missed that game as did his pass-rushing partner, Highsmith. The Bengals tackles will have a different type of matchup this go around with the Steelers pass rush. Look for the Steelers to ramp up blitz packages and bring pressure to Burrow from a variety of positions today and keep an eye out for a splash play brought to you by Fitzpatrick and/or Watt.
2) Testing the Secondary
Of course, the Steelers’ defense was without Fitzpatrick and their number one cornerback, Haden last week, but the Steelers fielded players that can get the job done! Herbert throwing for almost 400 yards is just unacceptable, not to mention the 90 yards on the ground he gained by scrambling. Burrow and the Bengals saw what Herbert did last week to this Steelers’ defense; I would expect to see some deep shots early from the Bengals QB. The Steelers will be without Haden again this week, so expect to see CB James Pierre to be tested specifically, especially if the Bengals can get rookie sensation WR Ja’Marr Chase one-on-one with the Steelers’ corner. Pierre has shown flashes and played well at times, but needs to be more consistent.
3) Find the balance, piece it all together!
The Steelers seem to have had several games where they’ve ran the ball well and last week against the Chargers, the passing game seem to click pretty well as well. It’s time for this team to play a complete game. The first thing I’d love to say when the clock strikes triple zeros in the 4th quarter is “This team was really balanced on offense today.” The Steelers have started to become more balanced as the season has gone on, but the past two weeks they have strayed away from a balanced offense and went back to a pass heavy offense. Obviously, last week after going down by 17, there was no other choice but to pass the ball. The week prior in the tie against the Detroit Lions, in the rain and with a backup quarterback ran the ball 31 times compared to 50 pass attempts by QB Mason Rudolph. This would be a great week to hit their stride and put everything together on offense. The Steelers should look to run a more balanced offensive attack this week against the Bengals. Look for RB Harris to carry a load of 20 plus touches today on the ground with at least 5 targets as well.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? What should we watch for on the road against the Bengals today? Sound off in the comment section below on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram!
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..
Last week in review
The 3 things I noted to keep an eye on last week were:
1) Next Men Up
Last week the Steelers were down several starters on both sides of the ball, but the defense faced the larger deficit in the injury column. The Steelers defense allowed 41 points and you could tell this defense was missing a few key pieces. The Steelers were without CB Joe Haden, OLB TJ Watt, FS Minkah Fitzpatrick, and DE Isaiahh Loudermilk. Right in the most crucial parts of the game for both sides of the ball. The Steelers were blitzing at a much larger percentage than they have all season, so even though the Steelers got to Herbert twice on 8 hurries, the absence of Watt was felt. In the end, the Steelers defense gave up a 53- yard pass to WR Mike Williams down the sideline, to ultimately be the dagger. The Steelers ran a slot blitz and both CB Cam Sutton and FS Tre Norwood tried to get a trap interception and it backfired. I have to agree with Chris Collinsworth on this one, “That would’ve never happened with Fitzpatrick in the game.” He just helps eliminate those types of plays. The Steelers offense still had a chance with 2:09 remaining and the absence on the offensive side of the ball was felt as well. The first play after the Williams score resulted in a Roethlisberger sack when they ran a stunt right over top of LG Kevin Dotson’s replacement, Joe Haeg. The very next play, Chargers defensive star, Joey Bosa ran right through Haeg for another sack. After an incomplete pass and a delay of game penalty, the Steelers faced 4th and 32; there’s just not many plays in the playbook to convert that in that situation.
2) Keep Pressure on Justin Herbert, Don’t allow the Chargers to take the top off!
This subtitle really should’ve read “Keep Pressure and contain on Justin Herbert…” The QB led his team in rushing on Sunday night. He had 9 carries for 90 yards and he always seemed to take off on crucial downs. He also went 30 of 41 for 382 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. He threw for a 9.3 yards per throw average. Alex Highsmith stepped up in a huge way and produced in the absence of Watt. He totaled 6 tackles (3 solos), 1.5 sacks, 1 tackle for loss, and 3 QB hits. At the end of the day, Herbert killed the Steelers’ defense on the ground and in the air.
3) Communication is key
Even though the Steelers’ offense scored on 7 out of 11 possessions, with 1 ending the first half, 1 punt, and 2 ending on failed 4th down conversions, they settled for field goals 3 times while in the red-zone on two of those occasions. After going down 17, the Steelers’ offense gained some momentum after Miles Killebrew blocked a punt to set the offense up at the Chargers’ 3-yard line. Harris punched a touchdown in from the 1 on that drive. That started a somewhat crazy kind of back and forth between the two offenses. Eventually the Steelers tied the game after being set up with great field position by a pass batted in the air from DE Cam Heyward and intercepted by CB Sutton. For a week of virtual meetings, minus your starting left guard and heavily- utilized rookie RB Harris missing some game time with a concussion scare, Roethlisberger had the offense clicking pretty well.
Let’s take a look at 3 things we should watch for against the Bengals:
1) Guess Who’s Back?
With missing last week for different reasons, the Steelers’ defense will welcome back All-Pros OLB Watt and FS Fitzpatrick. The Steelers will also get back defensive lineman Loudermilk as well, this is important because the Steelers’ defensive line is wearing thin. Look for the impact to be felt early on by these two. I’d like to see a splash play from either player or both, early on. The Steelers must get pressure on QB Joe Burrow, as they failed to do so in the Week 3 matchup. It should be noted that Watt missed that game as did his pass-rushing partner, Highsmith. The Bengals tackles will have a different type of matchup this go around with the Steelers pass rush. Look for the Steelers to ramp up blitz packages and bring pressure to Burrow from a variety of positions today and keep an eye out for a splash play brought to you by Fitzpatrick and/or Watt.
2) Testing the Secondary
Of course, the Steelers’ defense was without Fitzpatrick and their number one cornerback, Haden last week, but the Steelers fielded players that can get the job done! Herbert throwing for almost 400 yards is just unacceptable, not to mention the 90 yards on the ground he gained by scrambling. Burrow and the Bengals saw what Herbert did last week to this Steelers’ defense; I would expect to see some deep shots early from the Bengals QB. The Steelers will be without Haden again this week, so expect to see CB James Pierre to be tested specifically, especially if the Bengals can get rookie sensation WR Ja’Marr Chase one-on-one with the Steelers’ corner. Pierre has shown flashes and played well at times, but needs to be more consistent.
3) Find the balance, piece it all together!
The Steelers seem to have had several games where they’ve ran the ball well and last week against the Chargers, the passing game seem to click pretty well as well. It’s time for this team to play a complete game. The first thing I’d love to say when the clock strikes triple zeros in the 4th quarter is “This team was really balanced on offense today.” The Steelers have started to become more balanced as the season has gone on, but the past two weeks they have strayed away from a balanced offense and went back to a pass heavy offense. Obviously, last week after going down by 17, there was no other choice but to pass the ball. The week prior in the tie against the Detroit Lions, in the rain and with a backup quarterback ran the ball 31 times compared to 50 pass attempts by QB Mason Rudolph. This would be a great week to hit their stride and put everything together on offense. The Steelers should look to run a more balanced offensive attack this week against the Bengals. Look for RB Harris to carry a load of 20 plus touches today on the ground with at least 5 targets as well.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? What should we watch for on the road against the Bengals today? Sound off in the comment section below on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram!
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..
