WEEK TWO: LAS VEGAS @ PITTSBURGH (-5.5, O/U 46.5)

Synopsis:

Þ Jon Gruden (114-110) vs. Mike Tomlin (146-78-1)

Þ Sun., Sept. 19, 2021 @ 1 P.M.

Þ Weather Forecast (via nflweather.com)

Three Keys

Limit Darren Waller

Yes, I know this man is a monster and cannot be stopped. The goal here should be to limit him, much like they employed last week against Stefon Diggs.

Looking at the pass placement and targets for Waller from Carr, the first thing that stands out is the absolute absurdity of targets Waller had. Waller received a monstrous 36.5% (19/52) of targets Monday night and his freak athletic traits command the same attention moving forward. Look for the Steelers to utilize a mixture of dime and nickel packages (with rotating corners) to keep him in check.

As Mike Tomlin mentioned in his Tuesday press conference, the threat of Josh Jacobs and Kenyan Drake exploiting these coverages is what makes this situation complicated. A huge reason the Steelers defense looked so dominant against the Bills, however, can be credited to the dominant play of Cameron Heyward and the pass rush. Whenever so much pressure is generated that the pocket was pushed back into the lap of the QB, that can limit the effectiveness of the rushing attack.

Look for Cameron Heyward to continue his dominant performance and number one PFF ranking throughout this season. Oh yeah, Stephon Tuitt is due back at some point, too.

Establish Rushing Lanes

This past week was a struggle for the young offensive line as they struggled to generate many holes for Najee Harris to run through. Personally, I would not read that much into it as it was their first start together as a unit in an incredibly hostile environment.

Shifting our focus to this week, OC Matt Canada and Big Ben can employ a few tweaks to allow things to open more. One of the things that worked well on Sunday was Ben hitting TEs over the middle. Pat Friermuth saw one target 15 yards down the field in the middle of the secondary that went for 24 yards. Eric Ebron also saw a target in the middle of the field at 16 yards that went for 19 yards. Both passes were successful and were deployed against zone matchups, leaving room for the athletic players to move.

Per Dan Orlovsky of ESPN, the usage of zone coverage schemes across the NFL was extremely high this past week. Knowing that those TE catches can be a heavy mismatch against zone coverages, look for the Steelers to exploit that more.

Expanding away from the constant use of short passes and mixing in more intermediate passes can work wonders for finding holes that Najee can run through, as it will force defensive players to push back their stance a little bit.

According to PFF, Ben attempted 62% of his passes within 10 yards and 0% beyond 20. Knowing that he is 39 years old and that deep ball might not have as much zip on it as before, I would like to see Ben attack the intermediate routes a little more.

Guard Mad Maxx

One of the highest rated players per PFF this past week was Maxx Crosby, earning a whipping 93 overall grade and 93.1 in the pass rush. Crosby also generated 13 total pressures against Lamar Jackson, crashing into the pocket and causing chaos a multitude of times against former Steeler Alejandro Villanueva. The Raiders line pressured Ravens QB Lamar Jackson on 54.5% of his dropbacks. This matchup could single-handedly determine how much success the Steelers offense has moving the ball downfield on Sunday and it will be critical for the Steelers to find creative solutions in slowing them down.

Guarding him is none other than RT Chukwuma Okorafor, who had the worst game against the Bills amongst the offensive linemen. Okorafor was notably pushed back in multiple instances while the Steelers were trying to generate a running game and failed to create leverage against the Bills front.

To guard against this attack, look for the Steelers to utilize Pat Friermuth as additional help for Chuks against Crosby. One of Friermuth’s top traits coming into the league is his ability to block, utilizing his high frame and motor to get leverage against defenders.

Take a look at one of Friermuth’s blocks this past week:

While slowing down Crosby will be a challenge, I'd love to see the Steelers utilize this tool at their disposal.