The Pittsburgh Steelers will play their third game of the 2023 regular season on Sunday night, and this week it will be a road contest against the Las Vegas Raiders. Once again, the Steelers will enter the game as slight underdogs. Below are five key things that I believe the Steelers will need to do on Sunday night to come away with their second win of the 2023 season.
Stop Being So Negative – So far through two games, the Steelers offense has had 27 plays that ended in no yards gained or worse, or an interception (kneels excluded). That’s 23.7% or close to one out of every four plays. 12 of those 27 have come on first downs and that’s obviously painful to see and overcome. Oh, and I did not even include offensive penalties in that count and there have been five of those accepted on that side of the football through two games played.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin briefly discussed the negative play factor on Tuesday morning following the team’s Monday night win. That was understandable as the offense already has enough obstacles to overcome every game as it is. Averaging 13 negative plays a game won’t produce many wins. This is one of the main factors on offense that needs to be fixed moving forward. An occasional negative play is going to happen, maybe three or four a game on average. 27 through two games is not normal. Drop that number down to six a fewer against the Raiders on Sunday night and I bet the Steelers win.
Grahnd N Pahnd N’at – Where is this bully ball we were expecting on offense this season? Through two games, running backs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren have combined to carry the football just 25 times in total for 100 yards. That’s the sort of stat-line we were expecting to see in one game, not in two total. If not for a few of those 25 attempts being explosive runs by Harris, the Steelers rushing attack would look even worse than it already does. If the Steelers offense can’t run for at least 60 yards on Sunday night against the Raiders, the 2023 offense will set a new franchise record for fewest rushing yards gained through the team’s first three games. That’s not great, Bob, or in this case, Matt.
The Raiders defense has allowed an average of 138.5 rushing yards per game, 4.86 yards per carry, through the first two weeks of the 2023 season. They can be run on. The Steelers might want to finally start getting their guards on the move starting Sunday night and run more power and gap scheme attempts. Their zone run efforts have been lousy overall. Remember when the Steelers used to be known for their rushing attack? If they can’t return to those roots starting Sunday night, we’re likely going to be in for a long rest of the season. Get the heavy personnel out there Sunday night and run over some Raiders.
Maxx Protection – The Raiders defense has had some issues through two games played but defensive end Maxx Crosby certainly isn’t one of them. Crosby has registered 10 pressures on the season yet within that, he has only one sack and one quarterback hit. For the most part, opposing teams have not allowed Crosby to wreck their game plan and that’s likely to him being a focal point and for obvious reasons. With the Raiders not having a great compliment to Crosby so far this season (veteran Chandler Jones on NFI list, rookie Tyree Wilson struggling early) the Steelers need make sure that Crosby doesn’t wreck their offensive game plan on Sunday night.
Crosby mainly plays on the left side of the Raiders defense just as outside linebacker T.J. Watt does for the Steelers. He’s not hard to find and RT Chukwuma Okorafor will have his hands full Sunday night. Okorafor could use as much help as possible in the form of a chipping running back or tight end throughout the game. If the Steelers offense can severely limit Crosby on Sunday night, it would go a long way in helping secure a victory. Keep Crosby away from QB Kenny Pickett. Far away.
Fix The 32nd Factor – The 2023 Steelers team has a lot of warts heading into Week Three and one of those that needs burning off Sunday night revolves around the team’s run defense. After two games, the Steelers run defense ranked last in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game (193.0) and yards per carry allowed (5.59). Pitiful. The run defense has already allowed eight runs of 10 yards or longer and three of 20 yards or longer. On 1st and 10 runs, the Steelers defense is allowing 4.9 yards per carry on average and that has allowed opposing offenses to stay ahead of the chains in their first two contests.
Fortunately, the Steelers defense will face a Raiders offense on Sunday night, much like their own, that has struggled to run the football to start the season. Heck, Raiders RB Josh Jacobs, who led the NFL in rushing in 2022, has all of 46 rushing yards on 28 carries with a long of seven yards through two games played. Even so, the Raiders are likely going to try to get their running game going Sunday night just like the Steelers offense will attempt to. This contest could come down to whichever team runs best and thus the Steelers defense better do their part to ensure that happens.
Put Your Money Where Your Muth Is -Through two games, Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth has all of two receptions for 5 yards and a touchdown on five total targets. Thats in 73 total offensive snaps played as well. This sort of pace simply can’t keep up and the Steelers must find a way to get him more involved in the offense and starting on Sunday night against the Raiders.
Through two games played, the Raiders have allowed opposing tight ends to catch 16 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown. If Freiermuth could register a stat line half of that on Sunday night, it would likely go a long way to possibly securing a road victory. At the very least, Freiermuth needs to be used in the middle of the field Sunday night and in the low red zone as well. He should have the least attention of the offensive eligibles Sunday night. It’s time for Freiermuth to get rolling in the passing game.
