A little over three weeks after signing to the 53-man roster of the Pittsburgh Steelers, rookie cornerback Darius Rush had his first opportunity at extended playing time Thursday night against the Tennessee Titans at Acrisure Stadium.
In his first extended action, Rush played 30 total snaps (40.5%), playing primarily in dime defense for the Black and Gold, which happened to be his first snaps of the season. The Steelers signed Rush off of the practice squad of the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 17, getting their hands on a long, physical, athletic cornerback that they liked in the pre-draft process, and he rewarded them with some strong plays in the game, including late.
With the secondary underperforming a bit, particularly cornerbacks Patrick Peterson and Levi Wallace so far this season, Rush is going to get more run moving forward. They very clearly like the South Carolina product and they want to see what they have in him.
So, what do the Steelers have in him so far coming out of the Titans game?
Let’s take a look.
Rush’s best play is the one he actually didn’t make. Stick with me here.
Late in the fourth quarter with the Titans driving for a potential game-winning touchdown, Rush had a chance to seal the win. Sitting middle of the the field with eyes on rookie quarterback Will Levis, Rush does a great job of jumping the seam route targeting tight end Chig Okonkwo.
Rush never takes his eyes off of Levis and does a good job of sitting and reading the route in front of him. Okonkwo tries to clear linebacker Kwon Alexander quickly, and Levis trusts his arm a bit too much, thinking he can fit that ball in there before Rush can make a play.
The rookie jumps the route though perfectly and is in position to end the game immediately. Unfortunately, he’s unable to make the play as the ball goes right through his hands, giving the Titans one more opportunity.
Here’s another angle of the play.
Watch Rush. He never takes his eyes of Levis and largely baits him into the throw. He’s got to finish that play though. That was a big missed opportunity.
Earlier on the drive, Rush had a miscommunication that cost the Steelers, leading to a big play for the Titans, chewing up a bunch of yardage to get them into Steelers territory.
Rush is in the middle of the field and is sort of in that lurking role. While in that role, Rush has a lot of ground to cover, but has veteran Patrick Peterson over the top. As you can see on the play, it looks like Peterson is trying to communicate to Rush on the fly to take the deep dig route to Chris Moore, rather than continuing to carry the slot in Kyle Phillips.
Rush doesn’t take the crosser and it leads to a 29-yard strike to Moore, putting the Titans on the Steelers’ side of the field.
Peterson appeared rather unhappy after the play as it was a miscommunication. Those happen, especially with a new player getting his first real reps like Rush. They’ll clean it up moving forward.
Solid rep here from Rush in zone coverage.
Looks smooth in his movements, does a good job of gaining depth and keeping eyes on the quarterback. I would just like to see him have tighter coverage on the slot receiver here, squeezing down on the throw. He has to have a better feel for what’s around him in zone. That will come with time. If he squeezes a little bit there, knowing Joey Porter Jr. has the boundary receiver, that might be an incompletion, or he might have a chance to play the ball.
Instead, it’s a decent gain for the Titans. Still, Rush doesn’t look lost or uncomfortable out there. That’s a massive plush.
He did look a bit uncomfortable and unsure of himself late in the first half in zone coverage, though.
Rush has to get more depth here. Keep dropping, especially with Phillips running by him. Rush gets lost a bit in coverage and it leads to an open throw from Levis to Phillips, setting up a fourth and manageable for the Titans late in the first half.
Same thing here earlier in the drive.
Rush has to read that nobody is threatening the flat or the hook/curl area, so he needs to gain depth.
He doesn’t read that and doesn’t gain depth, which opens up a sizable window to throw into behind him, leading to Levis hitting Nick Westbrook-Ikhine for a chunk gain.
Let’s close out this film room on Rush with something positive though.
Two plays after dropping the game-sealing interception, Rush didn’t fall for some eye movement from Levis, standing his ground, squeezing towards the seam route to tight end Josh Whyle, making for a very difficult throwing window Levis.
Watch the way Levis looks left initially, trying to move Rush off his spot. Rush never moves and reads the route concept perfectly, squeezing on the throw.
Kwon Alexander makes an absurd play on the football, and even if he doesn’t get there, chances are very high that veteran safety Damontae Kazee and maybe even Rush get there to break up the throw.
Heady stuff from the rookie. Hopefully he’s earned more playing time moving forward.
