4 burning questions Steelers desperately need to answer in Week 9 vs. Titans

While the Steelers opted to not make any moves before the trade deadline, that doesn’t mean that they don’t have a job on Thursday. The Titans are set to square off against Pittsburgh, and while Tennessee has its own issues, this isn’t a team playing well right now.

Despite their issues, they have still found a way to get to 4-3 on the season, and a win before a long break would be huge for this team. The AFC North is a tight race, and if Pittsburgh wants to hand around, they need to beat opponents like this. Here are four questions the Steelers must answer against the Titans.

Can the Steelers get Darnell Washington involved?

This could be said for the entire tight-end room, but the team hasn’t found a good game plan centered around their safety valves. Pat Freiermuth was quiet before landing on IR, and the room has been mostly non-existent since then. Considering the struggles of this passing game, this room needs to be better utilized.

This starts with rookie Darnell Washington, as the third-round pick hasn’t quite lived up to expectations yet. While he has been featured as a blocker, his passing ability hasn’t been an aid for this team just yet. He only has one reception and hasn’t been a sharp route runner.

While he was drafted to be a blocker first, a third-round pick should also ideally be a capable receiving threat. I don’t expect dominance, but this team needs to get more out of him than what they have gotten so far. At the bare minimum, he needs to be used more than Rodney Williams.