Here are the Steelers causes for concerns for their Football Team matchup this week
After a week of moving games around and a near loss against a decrepit Ravens team, the Steelers are now on a short week against the Football Team. While the team should be favored to win this game, it may prove more difficult than many fans anticipate. With all of that said, here are four causes of concern for the Steelers against the Football Team.
Antonio Gibson
The Football Team had one of the better drafts this year, and while Chase Young has done his thing as a pass rusher, Antonio Gibson has become a dynamic player on this offense. He showed the NFL on Thanksgiving that he is a threat with the ball in his hands with roughly 140 yards total and three scores.
While he came out of college as a gadget player and seemed destined to be a receiving back, he has shown flashes as a runner. For starters, he has a nose for the endzone, as he has 11 rushing scores on the year. Throw in the almost 900 total scrimmage yards, and it is apparent that the Football Team wants the offense to flow through him. In turn, he has responded by killing quite a few defenses.
The issue is, even the Steelers stop him as a runner, the Football team will still get him involved as a receiver. If the Steelers want to shut this offense down, they will need to limit what Gibson does. They can’t ignore the other backs either, as J.D. McKissic has been an active receiver as well while Peyton Barber can be a brutal downhill rusher. It starts and stops with Gibson though, as stopping him will be the key to limiting this offense.
Steelers dropping the ball
The Steelers offense has become frustratingly one dimensional, as the team is opting to pass and only run when necessary. While this has worked well enough to get to 11-0, the Ravens showed just how big of an issue this can be. The Steelers offense was not in sync when they played the Ravens. With Ben Roethlisberger has his share of struggles, the biggest issue was the Steelers receivers dropping catchable passes.
While everyone and their brother will jump on Diontae Johnson for this, there are other guilty party members. Chase Claypool and even JuJu Smith-Schuster showed suspect hands (Smith-Schuster by way of a fumble). Claypool has been able to win deep, but he has had quite a few catchable deep balls fly through his hands and bounce off his chest. His hands have been the worst part of his good rookie season so far.
That said, Johnson has been the worst offender in this regard. As bad as it sounds, Johnson has delivered at least one bad mistake every game. While his good outweighs the bad, his hands are a huge issue. He dropped at least three catchable balls against the Ravens. Stats like that will kill an offense.
While this team has found obvious success, if it wants to remain so pass-happy, they need to get these drops under control. If the Steelers want Johnson to be a primary target, he needs to have his hands worked on, so he doesn’t keep making these mistakes. The whole crew can strengthen their hands, but Johnson is the primary issue here. For a team that wants to throw the ball, these issues need to be fixed if a deep playoff run is to occur.
“Scary” Terry McLaurin
While his stats may not show it, Terry McLaurin could make the case as the best deep threat in the NFL. He has unreal 4.3 speed despite playing at 6’0 and 210 lbs. which allows him to be physical at the catch point. He can run savvy routes as well, making him a danger from all over the field. In all honesty, he and the running backs are the only real threats through the air for the Football Team.
Quite the threat he is though, as he is on pace for well over 1000 yards receiving yards. While his overall touchdowns are lower compared to his rookie season, he hasn’t been any less of a big-play threat this season. The Steelers need to focus on stopping him. If they do, the Steelers will take away the deep passing game and force the Football Team to only throw it short. While they can succeed at this, it will at the very least limit the big play potential of McLaurin.
As well, it may not be a bad idea to bracket McLaurin with either of the safeties. While both of the boundary corners are decent coverage players, having the security blanket deep would further limit McLaurin on the day. The Football Team will have their wins in the short game, but it is vital that the Steelers don’t get beaten deep. Stopping McLaurin will be a huge aid there. If he gets some wins deep, this offense will easily beat the Steelers defense.
Football team’s front seven
Despite the poor record, the Football team is actually fielding one of the better defenses in the league right now. The secondary is a sound unit, but the real strength of this group is the interior of this defense and the pass rushers. This group has done a great job of generating pressure and forcing bad throws. Considering the Steelers are becoming increasingly one dimensional with throwing the ball, this could end up being a problem.
This interior defense is led by Tim Settle, who despite only playing around a third of the snaps has already amassed five sacks. Beyond him, the Football team has a plethora of former high round picks like Da’Ron Payne and Jonathan Allen manning the middle. That middle is daunting enough, but the edge is also controlled by some serious firepower. Despite his age, Ryan Kerrigan has been a rotational pass rusher while young rushers Montez Sweat, and Young have flashed talent as well.
This front seven knows how to get after the quarterback, and for an offense that is now pass-heavy, this group can do some damage. Despite the talent up front, the linebacking core is a weaker group which has allowed for some strong rushing performances against this defense. The Steelers would be wise to come out with a running heavy attack to get this defense out of its comfort zone. Then, some play-action passes could open the passing game up. If the Steelers opt to do their now traditional 40-50 passing attempts in a game, this front seven could wreak havoc.
The Steelers are coming off a close win and are now on a short week heading into their week 13 matchup. While the Steelers have some favorable matchups this week, the Football team has flashed some serious talent as of late and are still playing for a playoff spot. There are some serious concerns to be aware of this week as a result.