As we’ll do every week to get you ready for the upcoming game, our X-Factor of the week. Sometimes it’s a player, unit, concept, or scheme. Here’s our X-Factor for Monday night’s Week Two game against the Cleveland Browns.
X-FACTOR: P Pressley Harvin III
Yup. It’s Week Two and I’m already talking about special teams. If Pittsburgh is going to beat Cleveland, it’s going to be a close game. To win close games, field position is critical. Harvin and the entire Steelers’ punt coverage unit was below-the-line in Sunday’s opener against San Francisco, one of the many things that went wrong.
Harvin’s 42.6 yard average was 25th out of 28 qualified punters while his and the team’s 35.5 net yard punting was just 24th. Ugly numbers. The 49ers had a really good plan for Steelers’ gunners WR Miles Boykin and CB James Pierre, peeling off two rushers to block and lock those guys up downfield but Harvin struggled overall, especially early in the game when things were close.
His first punt of the game travelled just 34 yards from his own 20, bouncing out of bounds. His next punt was stronger, 54 yards, but came with a 15-yard return for a 39-yard net. Later in the half, from his own 40, he booted a 36-yarder that went out of bounds at the 49ers’ 24. A missed chance to pin their offense back.
Without Cam Heyward and Diontae Johnson and versus a good-looking Browns’ team, the Steelers are going to need to do all the little things right. They’re going to need to flip fields, force the Browns to march downfield, and bail out an offense that may have its struggles. Harvin isn’t the only guy who determines punt success, it’s a unit and not a player, but he’s the straw who stirs the drink. They need him to bounce back.
Frankly, he needs it, too. He’s had a bumpy first two years in the league and was called out by Mike Tomlin during his Tuesday press conference. That’s very much intentional, that’s a message for Harvin and that unit, not the fans and media. If Harvin has another rough game or two, punter is one of the positions the Steelers could look to change. Braden Mann remains a free agent and had a good summer before losing out to Harvin.
