For the Pittsburgh Steelers, it’s been rare they can escape an A-plus type of pass rusher. In six games, they’ve squared off against the San Francisco 49ers’ Nick Bosa, Cleveland Browns’ Myles Garrett, Las Vegas Raiders’ Maxx Crosby, and on Sunday, the Los Angeles Rams’ Aaron Donald. An intimidating group of guys with Donald having the most accomplished resume of them all, a future first-ballot, slam-dunk Hall of Famer.
Shutting a guy like that down is near impossible but Pittsburgh’s top goal offensively was to minimize Donald. Overall, they did and speaking to reporters after the game, Pickett credited the Steelers’ line and game plan.
“We had a goal of not letting him wreck the game,” Pickett said postgame via the team’s website. “Trying to do everything we can of sliding guys and doubling him. Getting four hands on him as many times as possible, if not all the time. That was a goal of ours. I think those guys did an unbelievable job.”
Donald finished the game with four tackles and two quarterback hits. He had his moments, including beating OG Isaac Seumalo cleanly for the key pressure on a third-down stop, but he didn’t have a sack or game-altering play.
It’s something we noted in our list of things the offense does well earlier in the week. Perhaps the best thing you can say about this unit is its ability to scheme away top players, especially pass rushers. Bosa, Garrett, Crosby, and now Donald were not the story exiting any of those games. In three of those games, the Steelers emerged victorious.
On the other side of the ball, EDGE rusher T.J. Watt impacts the game on a routine basis. Today, he picked off Rams QB Matthew Stafford, setting up the Steelers’ first touchdown of the game. Those impact plays have allowed Pittsburgh to keep the score down and hang around until the offense comes alive late. A script that’s almost too predictable at this point.
Doing just enough. It’s not pretty, it’s still debatable over whether it’s sustainable, but it’s still winning football. They did enough against Donald. Enough against the Rams. Enough to move to 4-2.
