After an embarrassing loss in the opening game vs the Patriots, the Steelers must quickly regroup and correct their mistakes in the home opener vs the Seahawks. We will look at what has to be done to avoid their second 0-2 start this decade.
I don’t know about you, but I had a bad, bad week last week. My week only got worse after watching the Steelers fall to Tom Brady and the Patriots in Foxboro.
It wasn’t even the loss that bothered me—it was how they lost. Everything that needed to happen to beat the Patriots simply did not happen.
The opening drive for the defense looked relatively promising. However, as I stated last week, if the Steelers offense did not establish the ground game and create a balanced attack they would not have a good evening. That is exactly what happened.
The defense got worn down and gashed overall. The Steelers got stuck being one dimensional and it enabled the Patriots to play a more soft zone—a similar strategy in the AFC Championship 2 years ago.
It was all downhill from there as the Patriots defeated the Steelers 33-3. The Steelers now have a tough test coming into town. The Steelers have a big opportunity to bounce back this week.
The Seahawks come in after holding the Bengals off in a 21-20 victory. Seattle has a couple of things against them history-wise: they have never scored a point in Heinz Field, leading to no victories in Heinz as well.
However, these Seahawks aren’t led by Matt Hasselbeck and Tarvaris Jackson. The last time they played again Russell Wilson, the Steelers allowed a season-high 39 points in 2015. To be fair, the Steelers secondary consisted of William Gay and Valentino Blake on the outside.
The Steelers will have to do quite a few things offensively and defensively to avoid their second 0-2 start under Mike Tomlin. The last time they started 0-2, the missed the playoffs. Let’s start with the biggest area of improvement…
The Steelers will win if offensively…
Where to start? The was plenty to be upset about with the Steelers offense on Sunday Night. The entire effort was lackluster. The Patriots’ defense seemed to be ready for everything.
Let’s start with the execution.
The offensive line did do one thing well: pass protect. The downside? There was nowhere to throw. The big reason for this can be attributed to the lack of ground game production. The Patriots front 7 often got a good read on the running plays.
A big cause for this was the fact that the Steelers tried to use similar concepts from their last matchups. Did they think Belichick wouldn’t be prepared for it? If your opponent can get a head start on the play developing, your runs will not produce. It also doesn’t help when you rely on a lot of east and west plays…
The Steelers must establish a better ground game because, if not, they will lose balance again and be put behind the sticks on third down. The Steelers only convert 3 third downs on 12 attempts because of the fact they played behind the sticks so often.
When the Steelers did pass the ball, they were plagued with the drop bug. Donte Moncrief’s drops stuck out the most for Steelers fans after drops on 4th down and a potential touchdown. The Seattle secondary will look to be just as physical as the Patriots secondary, so combat catches must be made.
Overall, the Steelers offense will just have to establish an identity in their offensive attack as well as execute better than last week. Avoiding mental mistakes (such as not snapping the ball) and predictive play-calling will be key factors against the Seahawks.
The Steelers will win if defensively…
Big Ben admitted that the offense did not help the defense out. Boy, was he right. The blame can’t all be pinned on the offense, however.
The defense had their fair share of gaffes and errors as well. Phillip Dorrset’s two touchdowns saw mental mistakes and miscommunications by safeties as the main culprits. You can also argue the middle linebackers constantly got tricked by play-action passes repeatedly despite seeing the same look on those plays.
Miscommunications have killed Pittsburgh’s secondary the past two seasons. With Sean Davis’ status up in the air, the secondary will have to focus on communicating better this week. Improving this area creates more opportunities for the front 7 to generate pressure and splash plays.
Despite the loss, the Bengals last week did a good job of containing Russell Wilson by effectively communicating early while also taking away the Seahawks ground game. Seattle averaged under 3 yards a carry on Sunday.
This kept them relatively one dimensional and allowed the Bengals to sack Russell Wilson 4 times. The Steelers will have to follow the same blueprint.
If the Steelers can make the Seahawks abandon the ground attack and put the pressure on Wilson, they will have to take advantage of positioning. There were a few instances where the secondary was in a position to make attempts at interceptions for the Patriots (one tipped pass which Cameron Sutton dove for, Terrell Edmunds going to the hit on Josh Gordon.)
Turnovers will play a pivotal role. Pittsburgh defeated the Seahawks in their previous two meetings in Heinz Field—allowing no points in either matchup. Ensuring better communication will lead to the front 7 being able to eliminate rushing attacks, which will bring more pressure on the Seahawks passing attack, and can force errors that should be cashed into turnovers.
Sunday will be an opportunity at redemption across the board. If the execution is better in all three phases, Pittsburgh will have a better chance of avoiding a winless start in their first two weeks. After a demolishing loss, you can’t ponder on it. You have to come back the next week and respond. Make no mistake, the entire team will be ready to prove last week is not what the 2019 Steelers will be.
Here We Go Steelers!