4 reasons Steelers will win their Week 3 matchup vs. Texans
The Pittsburgh Steelers have been generating pressure at an alarming rate in 2020. Having Cam Heyward, Stephon Tuitt, Bud Dupree, and T.J. Watt on the field at the same time has been a problem for Steelers’ opponents.
There isn’t a team in the NFL that comes close to how well the Steelers have been pressuring quarterbacks this season.
This Steelers defense is really good at generating pressure...
— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) September 24, 2020
Most QB Pressures This Season
Joey Bosa 17
Bud Dupree 14
Myles Garrett 14
Aaron Donald 13
T.J. Watt 13
Cam Heyward 12
Khalil Mack 12
Stephon Tuitt 12#HereWeGo pic.twitter.com/SKsVBfORLD
There isn’t another team in the NFL that has two different players with at least 12 pressures this season. The black and gold has 4 such players. The Steelers haven’t had the luxury of keeping all four of these guys on the field at the same time much since the draft of TJ Watt. Deshaun Watson has never faced as good of a pass rush like this in his life. While he is very very mobile, the Steelers should be able to contain him and force him to move up in the pocket. Tyson Alualu should be waiting with open arms.
Tyson Alualu has an astonishing PFF grade of 91.1. To put that in perspective, Aaron Donald has a PFF grade of 84.3. To be blunt, Alualu has been incredibly dominant so far this season. Seeing his production, makes me wonder how much success he would’ve had if he moved to the interior of the line sooner in his career.
This may be the best offensive line the Steelers have faced so far this season. Laremy Tunsil is their best lineman at left tackle and he is one of the best left tackles in the league. The rest of the offensive line is middle of the pack but this pass rush should have no problem against an average offensive line. Matching up the best offensive lineman the Texans have against Bud Dupree, who is tied for the second-most pressures generated in the league, is a matchup the Steelers should be welcoming with open arms.
I would not be surprised to see the Pittsburgh Steelers walk out of Heinz Field after tallying another 3-5 sacks on Watson. The intense amount of pressure on Watson will likely result in some mistakes, and force Watson to spend more time running than passing. That is what the Steelers need to do to slow down or stop this passing attack.