3 important notes from Steelers win against Eagles in Week 5

The Steelers rookie Wide Receiver turned in a stellar performance that helped seal the victory against the Eagles

For the record, my son and I both ‘called’ the selection of Chase Claypool, WR out of Notre Dame, in the second round of this year’s draft.  We were both shocked that Claypool was still available in the second round.  The Steelers have sorely missed that ‘big body’ WR who can stretch the field, but with the arrival of Claypool, we are missing that no more.

According to NFL.com, Claypool had 110 yards on 7 receptions, of which 3 went for TDs.  Claypool’s third TD reception iced the game for the Steelers.  It was a ‘break out’ performance for our rookie WR, but, more importantly, it was a much-needed performance from an unlikely contributor.

I say unlikely because my fear was that the lack of a preseason would detract from playing time for the rookies. That was not the case for Claypool and hopefully, that trend will continue for the remainder of the season. The reality is the offense needs all the speed it can possibly get.

The offense was also highly efficient converting third downs to the tune of a 73% conversion rate.  I think it goes without saying that Ben Roethlisberger, our franchise QB, was the catalyst for not only the success on third down but for the success of the offense.  ‘Big Ben’ was efficient in his own right, throwing for 231 net yards while adding 3 TD passes.

Let’s see how we fared on defense.