The Pittsburgh Steelers were thumped by the Houston Texans on the road in Week Four, which led to head coach Mike Tomlin having major concerns about the lack of physicality and preparedness that his team had leading up to the matchup.
Instead of making wholesale changes after the second blowout loss in the season’s first four games, Tomlin put an emphasis on more padded practice and more intensity and physicality throughout the week leading up to the AFC North showdown with the Baltimore Ravens in Week Five.
Though there is much debate about the padded practices even having an impact on the game on Sunday as the Steelers were very slow out of the gate — again — before making second-half adjustments, former Steelers offensive lineman Trai Essex certainly believes there was an impact from the padded practice on Wednesday, that being the mindset of the Steelers entering the physical matchup.
Appearing on 93.7 The Fan’s Morning Show with co-hosts Adam Crowley and Dorin Dickerson, Essex stated that he believes the padded practice and the physicality of those practices helped the Steelers entering the Week Five matchup.
“I think one padded practice, a tough practice, can reset the mindset a little bit,” Essex said to Crowley and Dickerson, according to audio via 93.7 The Fan. “I know heading into a Ravens week, you’ve got to pay attention to details, especially in the trenches where things are won and lost. The emphasis on physicality after that butt-whooping we got from Houston last week was much needed, and I think that helped reset the tone.
“…I thought they were pretty physical.”
It’s hard to truly get to a point where one can believe that one single padded practice on a Wednesday can truly have that big of an impact for a team, but Essex is there based on the physicality he saw.
Yes, the Steelers came out with an edge, especially on defense, and were flying around. They were aggressive — too aggressive at times — and were hunting the football, getting after Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson in the passing game and setting the tone physically with some big hits in run defense.
Though the Ravens marched right down the field and scored on the second possession of the game, the Steelers’ defense held Baltimore to just three points the rest of the game, forced three takeaways and two turnovers on downs and really played a near-perfect football game.
Offensively, the Steelers did just enough, establishing a running game with backup running back Jaylen Warren late in the game wearing down the Ravens before hitting the big shot down the field to win the game. With a bye week coming, we’ll see if that mindset that the Steelers might have found from the padded practice — or reset, as Essex believes — carries over into the Week Seven road trip coming out of the bye against the Los Angeles Rams.
