The Steelers are set to face a battered Seahawks team in week six, and here are four burning questions the team will have to answer.
The Steelers are one game away from their bye week, and while the Seahawks are playing extremely hurt, the team still needs to win. While the performance against the Broncos was promising, there are still issues this team will have to get past in order to remain competitive.
Here are four key questions the Steelers will have to answer against the Seahawks.
Can the Steelers offensive line hold up?
In what was a relatively surprising turn of events last week, the Steelers offensive line actually put up some of its best tape last week. The unit was physical at the point of attack on run plays and held up long enough in pass defense. One good game was refreshing to see, but now the group has to follow it up with another strong performance.
In terms of pass blocking, the Seahawks don’t have one singular defender that is a huge sack threat. Darrell Taylor leads the team with four sacks, while no other defender has more than one to their name. That said, this group as a whole can generate pressure still. The Steelers line won’t have an easy task this week in terms of pass blocking.
Run defense is another story. The Seahawks have one of the softer run defenses in the league, but both of their interior linemen excel at taking up space. Al Woods is a name that should ring some bells, as he played with the Steelers for a spell. He can still hold his own on running plays. Poona Ford is undersized, but he is another player who can penetrate and get after the running back. The line has an overall easier task this week, but they need to string together another strong game.
Can the Steelers stop the deep pass?
The Steelers defense looked like a healthier unit last week, but one element still plagued their unit. Deep passes and receivers that can win deep are a major issue for the team, as there isn’t a cornerback on the roster that can naturally keep pace with a fast receiver. James Pierre, Joe Haden, and Cameron Sutton all aren’t elite athletes, meaning that they can naturally struggle against fast receivers.
Unfortunately for the Steelers secondary, both D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett are extremely adept at winning deep. Each can make you pay at the line of scrimmage and can outpace even some of the faster cornerbacks in the league. They will both be difficult to contain this week, as both will have good matchups deep.
While the general lack of athleticism isn’t ideal, it also doesn’t help that Minkah Fitzpatrick hasn’t been his elite self so far this season. He will be key in covering the deeper portion of the field, and if he continues to make mistakes, it may cost the Steelers this week. Sure, Geno Smith is no Russell Wilson when it comes to deep passes, but that doesn’t mean the Seahawks won’t let their deep threats run wild this Sunday.
How does Steelers Claypool do in the slot?
The loss of JuJu Smith-Schuster will certainly be felt, but luckily the team has a natural replacement for the physical slot receiver. While Chase Claypool excels at winning deep, he is the most logical slot replacement as of now for the team. He uses his size and speed to win all over the field, and he played well in the slot while at Notre Dame.
While the team will likely employ a variety of different options in the slot, Claypool should end up being the bell-cow there. His size presents a mismatch for any team, and he was effective when used in the slot against Denver. He caught his lone touchdown there as well. He show some play after the catch ability as well, something that hadn’t been there when Smith-Schuster was the primary slot receiver.
The lone point of concern would be the reliance on the slot receiver to move the chains. While not always a dynamic receiving threat, Smith-Schuster did a great job of making the tough catch and moving the chains. To this point, Claypool has not proven that he can do that. He will need to work on his hands and make sure that while making the huge play is nice, he can also settle for the catch and the first down. There is a real reason to be optimistic about Claypool in the slot, but he needs to prove that he can be as dependable as Smith-Schuster first.
Can the Steelers make a statement?
The start of the Steelers season has gone pretty poorly. Despite a win last week, the team still has its fair share of struggles and no clear answer as to how to fix them. While the offense moved better against the Broncos, the problems with the deep ball and consistency haven’t been fixed. All that said, the team is set to face an ailing and underwhelming Seahawks team. By all accounts, the Steelers should win.
Unfortunately, the team has a history of underwhelming in these types of games. Despite being heavily favored, the Steelers still find a way to struggle against teams that they shouldn’t struggle against. I don’t believe in trap games, but there is a history linking the team to underwhelming against mediocre teams. That can’t happen this week.
In all honestly, the Steelers have to make a statement win this week. All three phases should find some semblance of success and the team should be able to handily win. The offense has to continue to move the ball well and pull off back-to-back solid games. The defense should have little issue stopping the Seahawks struggling offense. With the start of the season being so poor, the Steelers have to show this week that they are still a good team by handily beating the Seahawks on Sunday night.
While the Steelers are coming off a big win last week against the Broncos, they need to string together another solid week before their bye week. While the Seahawks are struggling right now, no game is ever a gimme in the NFL. The team will have to answer these four questions as they face off against Seattle on Sunday night.