Pittsburgh Steelers vs Las Vegas Raiders Week 2
Pat Freiermuth, is going to be something else for this Pittsburgh Steelers team when he puts it all together. On the very first running play by Najee Harris, Pat Freiermuth squared up Maxx Crosby and completely stonewalled him.
Is it possible that we can change the #88 jersey to #68, that was a perfectly executed block. Dan Moore Jr. again a possible missed assignment, seemed to have gotten downfield too early as the defensive lineman knifed behind him and tripped up Najee Harris for a short gain.
Zach Gentry the Pittsburgh Steelers third-string tight end, may have mixed up his blocking assignment on another rushing attempt and combo blocked a defensive lineman, and that allowed Maxx Crosby to come free on the backside and bring Najee Harris down for a loss. Jonathan Hankins Las Vegas Raiders defensive lineman was wearing Kevin Dotson like a hat most of the afternoon.
Mike Tomlin was asked about Derrek Watt on the field in his press conference. If a defensive lineman is coming free because an offensive lineman got whipped, or missed his assignment, there is not a whole lot a full back is going to do to help that. Not saying the Pittsburgh Steelers should not consider all options to fix their running game, but this offensive line is not winning the line of scrimmage with regularity.
Towards the end of the first quarter, Trai Turner was knocked so far backward, one could assume that he was at the original line of scrimmage. This offensive line is a problem, it was a problem in 2020 and it remains one this season. The Cincinnati Bengals are up next, get familiar with #94 Sam Hubbard, he will be in the backfield a lot this coming Sunday.