The Los Angeles Rams have a pretty formidable passing game led by QB Matthew Stafford and WR Cooper Kupp. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ secondary? Not so much. The Rams rank sixth in the league in passing yardage, while the Steelers, even with a bye week, rank 27th in passing yards allowed.
Considering that the Rams have done most of their damage without Kupp, they could be in for a long day. He has 15 catches for 266 yards since he’s been back, and Stafford has thrown for over 300 yards in back-to-back games. Get them on a run, and any secondary, not just Pittsburgh’s, is in trouble.
“When you’ve got a receiver [who] talks like a quarterback/head coach, and that’s Cooper Kupp, he always knows where to be”, former Steelers CB Ike Taylor said on the Bleav in Rams podcast. “When all three of them are on the same page, it’s gonna be hell, so Pittsburgh’s got to be careful to make sure all three of them dudes don’t get on the same page”.
So how do you defend that? Because the Steelers haven’t had much luck slowing down some of the top receivers they’ve faced. They’ve allowed three receivers to gain over 120 yards with two touchdowns in five games this year, with five receivers posting 85-plus yards. It would have been six if the Baltimore Ravens were able to hold onto the ball.
“You’ve got to apply pressure, bro. You’ve got to make Matthew Stafford see ghosts”, Taylor said. “You’ve got to get to him early and often, and even when you don’t get to him, the game is so hot to him he’s seeing ghosts. That’s how you’ve got to do it. If you let Matthew get comfortable with them two receivers and Coach Sean [McVay] get in rhythm, it’s a wrap”.
Okay, great, so you have an answer. But does it work? It does based on Pro Football Focus’ data. When pressured, Stafford’s numbers are substantially worse. He has a 71.2-percent completion rate when kept clean. That drops down to 39.4 percent under pressure, on 71 attempts this year.
He has only completed 28 of those 71 attempts when facing pressure in the first six games of the season, throwing for 430 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, averaging only 6.1 yards per pass attempt. He’s also made more turnover-worthy throws under pressure (three) in comparison to from a clean pocket (two) on less than half as many attempts.
Stafford has been sacked 16 times this season, with 18 percent of his pressures resulting in sacks. The Steelers are averaging more than three sacks per game this season, so T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith will be vital to slowing down this Rams passing game and limiting the damage of not just Cooper Kupp, but also Tutu Atwell and standout rookie Puka Nacua whose production has admittedly slowed since Kupp has returned.
