Home Steelers 2018 Season Impressions from Steelers Browns Week One

Impressions from Steelers Browns Week One

by Ben Anderson
Impressions from Steelers Browns Week One

A bunch of things that I think I think after watching the Steelers-Browns week one game a few times and doing an All-22 review.

  • Steelers clearly came out intent on establishing the run with James Conner. A pattern emerged run, run, pass, punt. May want to get Ben Roethlisberger more involved in early series next week to get him going instead.
  • 3rd and 13, 11:43 in the 1st, refs missed an obvious block in the back by former Steeler Chris Hubbard on T.J. Watt. The run should have come back.
  • Unnecessary Roughness call on Watt was legitimate. Watt’s forearm hit Taylor in the head. I don’t believe it was intentional, but the rule doesn’t judge intent, only action.
  • Ben’s first target to Justin Hunter was on a go route that Hunter quit on. The ball was a bit overthrown, but Hunter is a long target and should have at least tried to get there.
  • Next play Ben goes back to Hunter: the ball comes out a little wobbly and behind Hunter. Wet ball?
  • Ben’s 1st interception: he had Hunter and JuJu Smith-Schuster open on the other side of the field. Hunter was standing in the end zone alone. Ben forced it into double coverage to Antonio Brown and a third CB jumped the route and picked it off because Ben was telegraphing his target. Most un-Ben-like.
  • Roosevelt Nix more involved in this game plan than in 2017’s typical game plan, but mainly as a blocker.
  • Stephon Tuitt and Cam Heyward both had good games
  • With a few exceptions, Steelers DBs did a good job in coverage.
  • Making Tyrod Taylor stay in the pocket and throw vs the Steelers man and cover-1 coverage schemes would have been a better strategy than pressuring him and letting him run, in my opinion. That said, they did net 7 sacks. The thing is, Taylor offset those 7 sacks by scrambling for 3 first-downs and a touchdown. Kind of takes the air out of that balloon.
  • Bud Dupree riding the arc all the way around to Taylor’s right and allowing Taylor a running lane was a really poor strategy. I don’t know if Dupree was coached to do that, or it was just a case of him overrunning the arc. Most of those counted as pressures because they moved Taylor off of his spot, but did little in terms of actually busting the play aside from forcing Taylor to make it with his legs. When Taylor ran, his carries were successful on 5 of 8 tries. One instance where Dupree did this allowed Taylor a lane he used to run for a TD.
  • Defensive holding call on Terrell Edmunds was legitimate. Could even make the case that it was DPI.
  • Dan McCullers is playing with more intensity, but is still playing with a higher than ideal pad level and is easy to move when he stands over the OL blocking him.
  • Ben’s 2nd interception a case of him believing that AB would run a post and AB running a corner route.
  • Ben’s 3rd interception was the one that bounced off Jesse James’ hands.
  • I beat up on Bud Dupree a lot. So, I have to point out that his strip sack toward the end of the 2nd quarter was the best play I’ve seen him make in two years. Beat the tackle, stepped past the RB and swatted the ball from Taylor’s hand.
  • Holding call on Maurkice Pouncey on 2 yard TD run was nonsense. The D lineman spun himself into Pouncey and then flopped.
  • The hands to the face call on Marcus Gilbert on the next play was correct.
  • Watt had a huge game, beating tackles, tight ends, combo blocks by linemen and RBs. He notched 4 sacks, 11 tackles and 4 tackles for loss. Really impressive start given that he didn’t really practice all of August.
  • Ryan Switzer adds a dynamic to the return game that the Steelers haven’t had in years. Sliding down in the draft by giving up a 5th for Switzer and a 6th looks to be a good trade.
  • Kickoff team did a nice job limiting returns after kicks by Boswell that landed inside the 10 yard line.
  • Edmunds acquitted himself pretty well at strong safety. A couple of miscues, including the holding call, but overall the rookie played pretty well.
  • Mike Hilton had a really nice game, aside from one play where he bit on a Jarvis Landry double move and allowed a long gain. Otherwise though, really nice game. That guy is a fearless tackler. Love having that at slot.
  • Speaking of Landry, he pulls, pushes, takes a shot or two after the whistle, whatever he can do to get under the DB’s skin. I don’t blame Artie Burns for getting angry. That said, you either have to keep your cool as a pro or handle it the way that Hines Ward would have between the whistles. Nothing wrong with setting the tone, but it has to be done in a way that does get your team an obvious penalty.
  • Joe Haden with a nice deflection on a long pass attempt by Taylor into the end zone to Josh Gordon.
  • Steelers defense did a nice job keeping David Njuko under wraps the majority of the day. That effort was led primarily by Terrell Edmunds. Let’s hope they can do as well vs Travis Kelce next Sunday.
  • The Steelers defense played pretty well, one breakdown aside, in the 4th quarter. In overtime, they absolutely dominated. The Browns had 4 drives and netted 15 total yards.
  • I know some people don’t but so far, I like Sean Davis at free safety.
  • Terrell Edmunds started at strong safety. Morgan Burnett getting all reps at Dime Linebacker.
  • Myles Garrett is really, really good. Al Villanueva did not “get his butt whooped” by Garrett, as many have stated. But, this was far from Al’s best game. Sometimes, the other guy just makes a play. Garrett made many of them on this day.
  • The Offensive line obviously came out fired up, trying to get James Conner a big day. They were a little better in run blocking than in pass protection vs the Browns.
  • Ben had some amazing throws, like the TD pass to AB in the 3rd quarter. But, this wasn’t his best game, between missing AB being open consistently or throwing it late or behind receivers. I know that he expects more of himself. I expect to see him bounce back. He always does.

Steelers Rookie Report

Terrell Edmunds – started at strong safety and played 74 snaps. Nothing on the stat sheet, but played well enough to keep David Njuko in check.
James Washington – played 11 snaps on offense and 5 on special teams. No stats, no targets.
Mason Rudolph – DNP
Chuks Okorafor – played 17 snaps on offense and looked pretty “ok.” No gaffes to speak of from the rookie
Marcus Allen – DNP
Jaylen Samuels – Dressed but saw zero snaps
Matthew Thomas – Saw 7 snaps on special teams and didn’t really stand out. Not that it’s any reason for concern.

The Drive Chart

I like to take a look at the drive chart each game after the fact because it tells the story of how the game played out. It doesn’t give you the why, but it does tell you what happened.

1ST HALF DRIVES:

Steelers: (from Steelers 25) 3 PLAYS, 8 YARDS, 1:31 Punt

Browns: (from Browns 36) 6 PLAYS, 16 YARDS, 3:21 Punt

Steelers: (from Steelers 20) 5 PLAYS, 23 YARDS, 2:29 Punt

Browns: (from Browns 14) 4 PLAYS, 11 YARDS, 1:15 Punt

Steelers: (from the 50 YL)  4 PLAYS, 32 YARDS, 1:02 Interception

Browns: (from Browns 10) 6 PLAYS, 16 YARDS, 3:27 Punt

Steelers: (from Steelers 12) 10 PLAYS, 88 YARDS, 5:39 Touchdown  PIT 7 CLE 0

Browns: (from Browns 25) 7 PLAYS, 28 YARDS, 3:46 Punt

Steelers: (from Steelers 12) 1 PLAY, 0 YARDS, 0:11 Interception

Browns: (from Browns 28) 7 PLAYS, 26 YARDS, 4:46 Punt

Steelers: (from Steelers 9) 7 PLAYS, 54 YARDS, 1:51 Interception

Browns: (from Steelers 45) 2 PLAYS, -14 YARDS, 0:42 Downs – Steelers defense making a statement before halftime.

END OF HALF – Steelers: 205 yards of offense, 7 points and 3 turnovers. Browns:  83 yards of offense, zero points despite their defense collecting 3 turnovers.

2nd HALF DRIVES:

Browns: (from Browns 14) 10 PLAYS, 86 YARDS, 4:55 Touchdown   PIT 7 CLE 7 – This was really the only drive where the Steelers defense was outclassed all day long. They had one breakdown for a long pass later in the game, but otherwise a very good day.

Steelers: (from Steelers 26) 3 PLAYS, 74 YARDS, 1:41 Touchdown   PIT 14 CLE 7

Browns: (from Browns 8) 5 PLAYS, 6 YARDS, 2:16 Punt

Steelers: (from Browns 39) 2 PLAYS, 39 YARDS, 0:45 Touchdown   PIT 21 CLE 7

Browns: (from Browns 11) 6 PLAYS, 42 YARDS, 1:56 Punt

Steelers: (from Steelers 14) 12 PLAYS, 52 YARDS, 6:16 Punt

Browns: (from Browns 12) 3 PLAYS, 17 YARDS, 1:21 Punt

Steelers: (from Steelers 14) 4 PLAYS, -3 YARDS, 2:08 Punt (the Steelers with a 14 point lead taking their sweet ass time running plays)

Browns: (from Steelers 47) 7 PLAYS, 29 YARDS, 0:58 Downs (Browns trying to catch up playing hurry up offense)

Steelers: (from Steelers 18) 1 PLAY, -1 YARD, 0:08 Fumble – People point to the 4th quarter punt that was apparently touched by a Browns player not being awarded to the Steelers as the turning point in the game. I think it was here with Conner’s fumble. Good game overall, but gotta hang onto the ball, especially against a desperate opponent.

Browns: (from Steelers 1): 1 PLAY, 1 YARD, 0:04 Touchdown   PIT 21 CLE 14

Steelers: (from Steelers 28) 2 PLAYS, 9 YARDS, 0:51 Fumble – Ben, as a 15-year vet, has to know better than to take chances like that after a low snap. He should have just fallen on the ball. They were trying to set up a screen to the left and Garrett came unblocked. David DeCastro came across the formation but was too late and Conner was the intended target. He wasn’t going around Ben to block anyone.

Browns: (from the Steelers 37) 3 PLAYS, -2 YARDS, 1:27 Punt – Defense comes up big. Browns had all the momentum and they shut them down.

Steelers: (from Steelers 5) 6 PLAYS, 14 YARDS, 3:04 Punt

Browns: (from Browns 45) 2 PLAYS, 55 YARDS, 0:12 Touchdown   PIT 21 CLE 21 – On first down, Cam Sutton slowed down a bit while trying to locate the ball and Rashard Higgins kept running at top speed. 38 yards later, the Browns were in the red zone.

Steelers: (from Steelers 31) 3 PLAYS, 1 YARD, 0:29 Punt

Browns: (from Browns 29) 5 PLAYS, 28 YARDS, 1:13 Interception

Steelers: (from Steelers 8) 1 PLAY, -1 YARD, 0:16 – Roethlisberger kneel down.

END OF REGULATION – Steelers: 389 yards of offense, 21 points and 5 turnovers. Browns: 312 yards of offense, 21 points and 1 turnover. Steelers very fortunate to be tied after finishing regulation minus 4 in the turnover differential.

OVERTIME DRIVES:

Browns: (from Browns 25) 3 PLAYS, 9 YARDS, 1:17 – Since the NFL instituted its new overtime rules, the winner of the coin toss has won the game approximately 55% of the time. The defense came out and took the wind out of the Browns and their fans with a very abrupt 3 and out.

Steelers: (from Steelers 17) 5 PLAYS, 11 YARDS, 3:14 Punt

Browns: (from Browns 19): 3 PLAYS, 7 YARDS, 0:58 – Again the Steelers defense making a statement with another 3 and out.

Steelers: (from the Steelers 45) 8 PLAYS, 31 YARDS, 2:47 Missed field goal – Boswell’s PAT attempts had been sailing left all game long. I have to believe that weather played a factor there. This one from 42 sailed wide left outside the goal posts.

Browns: (from Browns 32) 3 PLAYS, 0 YARDS, 0:27 Punt – Defense again coming up big

Steelers: (from Steelers 26) 3 PLAYS, 12 YARDS, 0:41 Fumble – Marcus Gilbert was beaten cleanly by Genard Avery, Ben stepped up but Avery hit him while he still had the ball. (This turnover was ruled an interception during the game, but ruled a fumble {correctly} by Elias Sports later.)

Browns: (from Steelers 24) 3 PLAYS, -1 YARD, 0:27 Missed Field Goal (Block) – The defense, TJ Watt in particular, coming up big on this stand.

Steelers: (from the Steelers 33) 1 PLAY, 0 YARDS, 0:00 – Incomplete pass

END OF OVERTIME  PIT 21 CLE 21 – Steelers 472 yards of offense, 21 points and 6 turnovers. Browns 327 yards (including 15 total yards in overtime) 21 points and 1 turnover.

  • You win and lose as a team, but the Steelers Defense played much better than the offense, obviously.

Photo Credit: Peter Diana – Pittsburgh Post Gazette

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