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The Pittsburgh Steelers fell short of a miraculous comeback on Thursday Night Football against the Minnesota Vikings 36-28. The Steelers offense was held scoreless for almost a full 3 quarters. The team finally put points on the board with 2 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. QB Ben Roethlisberger went 28 of 40 for 308 yards, 3 touchdowns, and an interception. WR Chase Claypool led the team in receiving on Thursday night, collecting 8 receptions for 93 yards on 9 targets. Najee Harris ran the ball well despite falling behind by 29 points for the majority of the first 3 quarters. Harris finished the game with 20 carries for 94 yards and a touchdown. The Steelers move to 6-6-1 on the season and are back at home to take on the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at 1pm ET. Can the Steelers keep their playoff hopes alive? Before we talk more about this week’s matchup, let’s discuss what happened in the unsuccessful comeback attempt on Thursday Night Football against the Vikings.
Last week in review
The 3 things I noted to keep an eye on last week were:
1) Heavy Dose of Najee
I expected the Steelers to rely heavily on the run game against the Vikings last week, but when you fall behind by a couple of scores early in the 2nd quarter, it can be hard to stick to it. Especially, when drives can’t be sustained and end in 3 and outs on a regular basis. The Steelers still seemed to run the ball better than they have in other matchups this season, but you almost have to give full credit to Harris for all of the yards he gained on the ground on Thursday Night. This might have been the worst performance by the Steelers’ offensive line all season. Harris just has the ability to make something out of nothing. The Steelers have an incredible running back, but the team struggles to have a positive ground performance week in and week out due to one of the weakest Steelers’ offensive lines I have seen in my lifetime.
2) Encore Performance against the Run is Needed
I definitely put my foot in my mouth last week with this expectation. The Vikings welcomed Dalvin Cook back and the running back absolutely gashed the Steelers’ run defense. The Vikings’ offensive line opened up holes big enough to drive an 18-wheeler through the entire night. Cook finished with 205 yards on 27 carries and 2 touchdowns. The Vikings collectively gained 242 yards on 26 rushing attempts. It was a record-breaking kind of night for the Vikings’ rushing attack. Four days removed from holding one of the league’s top rushing attacks, the Baltimore Ravens, to just over 100 yards rushing; I thought the Steelers’ run defense seemed to be trending upward and that just wasn’t the case.
3) Next-Men Up Once Again
Another week, another opportunity for the Steelers’ reserves to step up to the plate with a few starters battling injuries. The lack of depth on the defensive line, honestly has been one of the biggest issues for this Steelers’ defense this season. After Tyson Alualu went down and Stephon Tuitt hasn’t played a down all year, the Steelers’ run defense has struggled mightily. Ahkello Witherspoon stepped up in a huge way and help fire up the Steelers in their rally on Thursday Night. The cornerback snagged two interceptions and played really well. It seems he has finally had the time to get acclimated to this defense and has played well in the absence of Joe Haden the past couple of weeks.
1) More Hurry Up, Please!
It seems the Steelers’ offense can only put points on the scoreboard in the 4th quarter this season. They have fallen behind big in a few games and rallied to get back into games behind Big Ben and his hurry-up offense. So why won’t the Steelers use the hurry up approach earlier in games? It makes no sense; I just don’t understand not using something that has been proven to put points on the board for an offense that struggles for the first 3 quarters of almost every game. This may not be an expectation, but more of wishful thinking. The Steelers’ offense is ranked number one in the NFL in 4th quarter scoring this season, and it’s no coincidence. Give Big Ben the keys to this offense and let him call the shots in hurry up and watch this offense succeed earlier in games! Let’s start this against the Titans tomorrow!
2) The Defense has to figure out a way to stop the run
Even without All-Pro running back Derrick Henry, the Titans’ rushing attack is ranked 5th in the NFL. This can be a daunting task for a defense that just gave up over 200 yards on the ground just 10 days ago. The Titans’ duo of running backs, D’Onta Foreman and Dontrell Hilliard are both averaging over 4 yards per carry this season. The Steelers’ run defense will have their hands full again tomorrow afternoon. With their backs against the wall and playoff hopes slipping further and further away, can the Steelers’ run defense put up a fight against a top 5 rushing attack?
3) Don’t Bite on Tannehill’s play action!
Sure, a powerful rushing attack against this season’s Steelers’ run defense makes me nervous. The thing that makes it more daunting of a matchup is the fact that the Titans’ have been incredibly successful coupling their powerful rushing attack with an efficient play-action passing game. The Steelers’ defense will be tasked with stopping or even just slowing down the Titans’ rushing attack, but they have to be disciplined in that approach. If they’re not disciplined and our linebackers bite on Ryan Tannehill’s play fakes, it can get really ugly very quickly and the Steelers’ will see themselves having to rally in another matchup this season.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? What should we watch for against the Titans? 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) Heavy Dose of Najee
I expected the Steelers to rely heavily on the run game against the Vikings last week, but when you fall behind by a couple of scores early in the 2nd quarter, it can be hard to stick to it. Especially, when drives can’t be sustained and end in 3 and outs on a regular basis. The Steelers still seemed to run the ball better than they have in other matchups this season, but you almost have to give full credit to Harris for all of the yards he gained on the ground on Thursday Night. This might have been the worst performance by the Steelers’ offensive line all season. Harris just has the ability to make something out of nothing. The Steelers have an incredible running back, but the team struggles to have a positive ground performance week in and week out due to one of the weakest Steelers’ offensive lines I have seen in my lifetime.
2) Encore Performance against the Run is Needed
I definitely put my foot in my mouth last week with this expectation. The Vikings welcomed Dalvin Cook back and the running back absolutely gashed the Steelers’ run defense. The Vikings’ offensive line opened up holes big enough to drive an 18-wheeler through the entire night. Cook finished with 205 yards on 27 carries and 2 touchdowns. The Vikings collectively gained 242 yards on 26 rushing attempts. It was a record-breaking kind of night for the Vikings’ rushing attack. Four days removed from holding one of the league’s top rushing attacks, the Baltimore Ravens, to just over 100 yards rushing; I thought the Steelers’ run defense seemed to be trending upward and that just wasn’t the case.
3) Next-Men Up Once Again
Another week, another opportunity for the Steelers’ reserves to step up to the plate with a few starters battling injuries. The lack of depth on the defensive line, honestly has been one of the biggest issues for this Steelers’ defense this season. After Tyson Alualu went down and Stephon Tuitt hasn’t played a down all year, the Steelers’ run defense has struggled mightily. Ahkello Witherspoon stepped up in a huge way and help fire up the Steelers in their rally on Thursday Night. The cornerback snagged two interceptions and played really well. It seems he has finally had the time to get acclimated to this defense and has played well in the absence of Joe Haden the past couple of weeks.
Let’s take a look at 3 things we should watch for against the Titans:
1) More Hurry Up, Please!
It seems the Steelers’ offense can only put points on the scoreboard in the 4th quarter this season. They have fallen behind big in a few games and rallied to get back into games behind Big Ben and his hurry-up offense. So why won’t the Steelers use the hurry up approach earlier in games? It makes no sense; I just don’t understand not using something that has been proven to put points on the board for an offense that struggles for the first 3 quarters of almost every game. This may not be an expectation, but more of wishful thinking. The Steelers’ offense is ranked number one in the NFL in 4th quarter scoring this season, and it’s no coincidence. Give Big Ben the keys to this offense and let him call the shots in hurry up and watch this offense succeed earlier in games! Let’s start this against the Titans tomorrow!
2) The Defense has to figure out a way to stop the run
Even without All-Pro running back Derrick Henry, the Titans’ rushing attack is ranked 5th in the NFL. This can be a daunting task for a defense that just gave up over 200 yards on the ground just 10 days ago. The Titans’ duo of running backs, D’Onta Foreman and Dontrell Hilliard are both averaging over 4 yards per carry this season. The Steelers’ run defense will have their hands full again tomorrow afternoon. With their backs against the wall and playoff hopes slipping further and further away, can the Steelers’ run defense put up a fight against a top 5 rushing attack?
3) Don’t Bite on Tannehill’s play action!
Sure, a powerful rushing attack against this season’s Steelers’ run defense makes me nervous. The thing that makes it more daunting of a matchup is the fact that the Titans’ have been incredibly successful coupling their powerful rushing attack with an efficient play-action passing game. The Steelers’ defense will be tasked with stopping or even just slowing down the Titans’ rushing attack, but they have to be disciplined in that approach. If they’re not disciplined and our linebackers bite on Ryan Tannehill’s play fakes, it can get really ugly very quickly and the Steelers’ will see themselves having to rally in another matchup this season.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? What should we watch for against the Titans? Sound off in the comment section below on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram!
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..
