Good Monday Morning Steelers’ Fans! There’s nothing better than heading in to the BYE week on a winning note!
Any win in the NFL is a good win. Any win on the road in the NFL is a better win. As ugly as it may have been, the Steelers defeated the Detroit Lions 20-15 to move to 6-2 on the season and an incredible 4-1 on the road.
First off, the Steelers spend more time on their touchdown celebrations than anyone else. If they don’t, then someone is coming up with some real good stuff in a damn hurry. Yesterday we got the “Le’Veon Bell bench press.” Well done guys.
So how did Matthew Stafford carve up the Steelers’ secondary last night? I’ll give you 2 reasons. First, Keith Butler was committed to sending just three and four rushers and I think that was somewhat predicated on the Lions’ banged up O-Line. Give them credit however because they put up a better fight than anyone could have thought. Secondly, Stafford has one of the biggest arms in the NFL and his ability to fit the ball in the that window against cover 2 was huge. I don’t think it was a mistake that they often chose Mike Mitchell’s side. For being one of the faster safeties in the league, Mitchell just doesn’t react well.
Yes, Ben Roethlisberger missed some throws last night. But is it too much to ask to catch the damn ball when it hits your hands?
While he should have NEVER thrown the ball into what amounted to triple coverage, Big Ben didn’t get much help from Antonio Brown who has to become a defender in that situation.
Tweet of the Day… Can’t tell you how much I like this.
Ben said the most encouraging thing about JuJu is that he’s still mad about the dropped 3rd down pass instead of celebrating the good stuff.
— Missi Matthews (@missi_matthews) October 30, 2017
This tells me that JuJu Smith-Schuster gets it. If this young man stays grounded the sky is the limit.
Not enough superlatives to describe the Steelers’ red zone defense last night. Holding any opponent to 0 for 5 is incredible but the Lions had some playmakers and still couldn’t punch it in.
The Steelers’ run blocking is good, but the edges are hurting them especially when the tight ends are involved. Jesse James was beaten several times to the point where the play was broken up before it started.
Cris Collinsworth is the worst.
The tackling was very suspect at times last night but the one thing I liked was that teammates usually closed in and finished off those misses quickly.
Tweet of the Day 2… They just keep coming… LoL
#StairwayToSeven pic.twitter.com/Fm6NAJ98F5
— JuJu Smith-Schuster (@TeamJuJu) October 30, 2017
Todd Haley had two really great play calls last night. The first was the opening play of the game where they faked the WR screen and hit JJSS on the sideline shot. The second was the play that wrapped up the game where Ben shoveled the ball to JJSS with David DeCastro leading the way. It was the game-clinching first down and was an excellent time for the call.
Keith Butler relied a little too much on three and four rushers last night in my opinion. Credit the Lions too for picking up a lot of the blitzes/rushers. It was obvious they had plenty of time to prepare.
The Steelers surrendered ZERO sacks last night against a Lions’ front had both speed and power. The one time Big Ben was hit hard should have been a flag. It was quite late and had he been named “Brady” or “Brees” he would have gotten the call.
I put the chances of the Steelers trading Martavis Bryant before the deadline Tuesday at 35/65. They would need to get a really, really good offer to even consider it.
The strangest call of the night was on 2nd and long late in the fourth quarter. The Lions were stacking the box to keep the Steelers from running out the clock. I have no problem with aggressive play-calling and a pass is something we’ve seen before in that situation. The back shoulder fade though? It’s the type of play where everything has to be perfect. I would have much more preferred a shorter route to set up third and short or allow a receiver to get the ball on the move.
Bud Dupree and T.J. Watt have to be more of a consistent pass rushing threat.
Last night was a well-officiated game in my opinion. Officials by and large were letting the guys play. Both helmet-to-helmet hits that were flagged were legit as was the push off on AB.
Enjoy the BYE week Steeler Nation!
