Hey Steelers fans. Welcome to Victory Monday!
The Kickoff
The Pittsburgh Steelers moved to 7-2 on the season with a 28-27 win in Washington over the Commanders yesterday. As was expected, the Commanders gave the Steelers everything they could handle and had a ten-point at one time. Make no mistake, you take the win and move on but there are some concerns from yesterday too. Injuries to Alex Highsmith among others is one thing but so too are the struggles defensively. Either way, the Steelers maintained their lead in the AFC North with the Ravens coming on Sunday.
Where’s Watt?
Most of you are aware that T.J. Watt doesn’t produce on the road the way he does at home but he has a penchant to really disappear at times. His only stats yesterday were a pass defended and two QB hurries. To be fair, Watt is seeing consistent chips and double-teams. When he was seeing one-on-one opportunities, the ball was coming out quickly. I’m of the opinion that Teryl Austin has to get more creative. If Highsmith is out for any extended period then things will change regardless, but Austin has to get other guys freed up to rush the QB. And in fairness to him, his players have to get it done too. This defense cannot be all T.J. Watt all the time.
JPJ and the Officials
There wasn’t a Steelers fan alive who didn’t know that Joey Porter, Jr was “handsy” when he came into the NFL. He often gets away with this but there are also times when he doesn’t and yesterday was a case in point. The officiating crew, led by Brad Rogers, called more defensive pass interference penalties than any other crew coming into the game. Therefore it wasn’t surprising to see him flagged. He wasn’t the only one as Donte Jackson was also hit as well with a yellow hanky. What irritates me about this is that if yesterday’s were a postseason game, most of those are never called and that irritates the shit out of me. It’s either a penalty or it isn’t in week one or in the Super Bowl. This… is why fans are so irritated by officiating.
The New Guys
Mike Williams will get most of the fanfare today and rightfully so. His touchdown catch – and only catch of the game – was the game winner. But Preston Smith had a solid debut as well. He collected three tackles and a sack. One could now argue that his presence is going to be even more valuable with Alex Highsmith likely out with an ankle injury. Williams has always been fairly limited in terms of the routes he runs but I have to believe he’ll see significantly more time this Sunday.
The Right Call?
The fake punt that failed immediately led to a Commanders’ score and a switch in momentum but was the decision to use the play the right one? The Steelers were up 7-0 and punting from their own 10. Special Teams Captain Miles Killabrew knew he had authority to audible if the opposition gave him the right look. When James Pierre was abandoned by a blocker and left all alone, Killabrew made the call. To be clear, if I were Danny Smith, I would have never allowed the call to be made from my own 10-yard line but that’s me. The audible was in play and it was used. It was executed properly with the lone exception of James Pierre not catching the ball. The players did everything right, sans Pierre and thankfully, it didn’t cost the team in the end.
Random Reads
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said this weekend from Munich that he wants more international games. Further proof that he and his bosses (the owners) are more interested in money than they are appeasing fans or local businesses in their home cities… Jerry Jones built a $1.2 billion indoor stadium yet his own players still lose balls in the sun… I’m still trying to process the video of Patrick Mahomes asking the ref to “let him know when a defender is close.” It’s not a good look for the league regardless of the intent… The NFL sent the Giants, Panthers and Machine Gun Kelly to Germany. On behalf of America, I’m sorry my German friends… Minkah Fitzpatrick didn’t make any splash plays yesterday and took a poor angle on a big Terry McLaurin catch but he also made some pretty big stops too… Why does Darnell Washington seem to get an early target then he disappears the rest of the game… Corliss Waitman has improved his accuracy as a punter big time since he arrived after week one.
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