The Steelers took care of business against a competitive Arizona Cardinals team in week 14. The defense continued to roll holding their fifth straight opponent to 21 or fewer points. Devlin Hodges turned in an efficient performance and became the first rookie undrafted free-agent quarterback to win his first three starts. The Steelers have won seven of their last eight games and control their playoff destiny. Here are my gut reactions:
Beating the Odds
It was good to see the Steelers actually get to play with a lead. The offensive game plan was still conservative, Hodges finished with 16 completions and a touchdown on 19 attempts, but that was good enough for a win. Just as important as Hodges 152 passing yards was the fact that he didn’t turn the ball over.
Hodges’ contributions as a rusher shouldn’t be overlooked either. He scrambled five times for 34 yards and ironically outrushed counterpart Kyler Murray. Hodges an undrafted free agent beat the first overall draft pick at his own game, but his solid performance was overshadowed by Dionte Johnson’s breakout day.
Receiving Contributions
Johnson had an 85-yard punt return for a touchdown, a 16-yard rush, six receptions for 60 yards and a receiving touchdown. Both Johnson and James Washington had efficient days, something they’d struggled with lately. Johnson caught six of his eight targets and Washington caught all four of his. But the box score doesn’t quite justify either player’s contributions. Johnson had an amazing play on a wide receiver screen where he reversed field and was brought down two yards shy of the endzone. Washington’s 33 yards receiving seems underwhelming, but he contributed in other ways. He drew multiple pass interference penalties that helped the Steelers offense keep their drives alive.
Also, Washington did an excellent job blocking on the perimeter. Their contributions are perfect examples of how the box score only tells part of the story. Hodges has also been able to find Deon Cain on occasion. He has one reception in each of the last three games but two of those receptions went for more than 20 yards.
All Running Backs on Deck
The running game was a mixed bag. Snell took the majority of the carries with 16. He ran hard, broke a lot of tackles, but only finished with 41 yards rushing. His 2.6 yards per carry average was subpar, and his fumble, the Steelers lone turnover, was demoralizing. But it’s hard not to like Snell’s game. He’s a power runner, and while he isn’t going to run away from the defense, he gets the tough yards for the Steelers. Samuels on the other hand is frustrating to watch. I’ve been studying him all season, and he doesn’t run like a running back.
His background of playing multiple positions is evident. He has developed some bad habits as a running back. He stops his feet at the line of scrimmage if there’s no hole and doesn’t display the vision to see cutback lanes when they develop. Speaking of cutback lanes, Zach Banner was absolutely dominant as the sixth linemen. He was consistently opening holes at the line of scrimmage and working to the second level.
Another great contributor was Kerrith Whyte. He brings a different skill set to the Steelers backfield. In only his third game as a Steeler, he’s displayed great acceleration and speed. He tied Snell with a team-high 41 yards rushing but he only had five carries. He’s averaged 6.7 yards per carry in the three games he’s been a Steeler and looks like a great change of pace back. His big-play ability is something that the Steelers inconsistent offense badly needs. Hopefully, Whyte continues to improve.
Defensive Dominance
The Steelers defense turned in another dominant performance. Kyler Murray and company were using pace and quick passes to wear down the Steelers defense. On the Cardinals first touchdown drive, the Steelers defense really looked gassed. There were some interesting schematic changes by the defense to account for Murray’s mobility. T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree were trying to keep Murray in the pocket rather than pressure him consistently. When the Steelers wanted to pressure, they blitzed an inside linebacker, and the scheme was effective.
Two inside backers, Mark Barron and Vince Williams, recorded sacks. Dupree and Cam Heyward both collected sacks as well and while T.J. Watt’s sack streak came to an end, his constant pressure and interception in the end zone were an excellent consolation prize. Joe Haden added two interceptions and the Steelers won the turnover battle for the 11th time in their last 12 games.
The Other Stuff
I thought Terrell Edmunds had an excellent game, but he’s still not making splash plays in the secondary. He helped prevent Cardinals running back Kenyan Drake from turning the corner on multiple runs. He also did a good job wrapping up Kyler Murray in the open field. Edmunds was even in position to make an interception had T.J. Watt not been there. But his whiff on the Cardinals second touchdown was ugly. The Steelers were in cover 2 and David Johnson was the only Cardinal that entered Edmunds zone. Edmunds undercut Johnson’s route and was in the perfect position to make an interception, but he mistimed his jump and the pass sailed over his hands.
With all of the great play and new acquisitions on the Steelers defense, it’s easy to forget Edmunds is only in his second season. Hopefully, his ball skills improve. Devin Bush also had an underwhelming game. After finishing no worse than second in Steelers tackles in every game this season, Bush’s production has trailed off. In two of the last three weeks Bush wasn’t among the Steelers leading tacklers. He’s made some rookie mistakes in coverage, and against the Cardinals he was taking poor angles to the ball. Bush finished the game with only two tackles, a pretty low number for an inside linebacker in the Steelers defensive scheme. Hopefully, he’s not hitting the rookie wall.
Next, the Steelers play their final home game of the season when the 9-4 Buffalo Bills come to town. That game figures to play a huge role in deciding the AFC wildcard seeding and has been moved to primetime. If the season ended today the Bills would be the first AFC wildcard team and the Steelers would be the other. Winning against the Bills would move the Steelers from the sixth seed to the fifth seed in the wildcard race, but it’s just as important that the Steelers continue to beat AFC opponents. Record against the AFC is the first tiebreaker for teams that haven’t played head to head, and the Steelers 6-3 record against the AFC is currently giving them the tiebreaker against the Tennessee Titans in the wildcard race.
