Win or lose, opposing offenses have enjoyed success throwing the football against the Pittsburgh Steelers this year. They rank 26th in passing yardage allowed, for example, having just given up over 300 yards to rookie QB C.J. Stroud in a 30-6 loss to the Houston Texans.
Every week, though, it’s been one wide receiver doing major damage. Three times in four games, they have allowed a wide receiver to catch seven-plus passes for 125-plus yards and two touchdowns. The only exception, against the Cleveland Browns, featured Amari Cooper catching seven passes for 90.
That’s not exactly a vacation, and that’s the best of the lot. They simply have not been able to shut down a team’s top target, even when they’re trying to. Against the Las Vegas Raiders, they concentrated on RB Josh Jacobs and the run game, but there’s no excuse for allowing 172 yards and two touchdowns to Davante Adams. They need to figure this out, quickly.
“We have to. You’re right. We have to do a better job when we see these guys and identify these guys and we know what they’re capable of”, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin told reporters on Thursday, via transcript provided by the team’s media department. “We’ve got to do a better job of stopping them”.
That is merely stating the obvious, of course. The Steelers only allowed three players to score multiple receiving touchdowns against them in 2022, including A.J. Brown’s monster game with three scores. They did allow 12 receivers to pick up 90-plus yards, though only eight reached 100, and four reached 125.
“Scheme-wise we’ve got to do a better job. That’s obviously me”, Austin acknowledged. “And player-wise we have to do a better job recognizing where this guy is, so we don’t let them wreck the game. You’re right, we’ve had three receivers have outstanding games against us. We have to do a better job”.
Up next is the Baltimore Ravens. They are not exactly throwing the ball over the yard, as usual ranking 32nd in pass attempts, but they will throw it against the Steelers if that is what the defense allows. They have offered opponents no indication that their “dark places” won’t be open for business.
The one to worry about figures to be rookie WR Zay Flowers, the Ravens’ first-round pick, who has 24 receptions for 244 yards and has been pretty consistent through his first month as a professional. He’s still looking for his first touchdown, but Pittsburgh may be able to provide that.
Baltimore also appears set to get Rashod Bateman and Odell Beckham Jr. back on the field in the passing game, giving QB Lamar Jackson more options than he has had to work with for most of the season. At the same time, the Steelers can’t be so focused on not letting one receiver beat them that they allow the others as a group to bleed them dry.
