This week the Pittsburgh Steelers kick off the second half of the NFL season with a serious challenge in the Los Angeles Rams. The Steelers are on a three-game winning streak and get Los Angeles at home but this is no time to be complacent, especially against the 5-2 Rams. Here are our big causes for concern this week
The Rams don’t run much but they can
As of right now, the Rams have the No. 5 passing offense in the league but the No. 20 rushing offense. But make no mistake, an offense that has Todd Gurley on it can turn to the run game when needed. As good as the Steelers defense has been in recent weeks, they do still struggle to stop the run. If they focus too heavily on the Rams passing attack, using all that dime defense, the Rams might just run right at them.
A shootout favors Los Angeles bigtime
If Pittsburgh falls behind early, it could be all over. No one thinks Mason Rudolph can keep up with Jared Goff if the two sides had to start trading shots late in the game. Goff and wide receiver Cooper Kupp form one of the best tandems in the NFL while Rudolph seems content dumping it off to his running back on half of his pass plays.
Are the Steelers running out of gas?
Pittsburgh has gotten off to some slow starts during this win streak but finds ways to hold it together late in games. But you have to wonder if the injuries and lack of depth on both sides of the football are starting to catch up to this team.
