Breaking down the two sacks the Pittsburgh Steelers allowed in their Week 14 loss against the New England Patriots.
1. 3rd and 8, 7:28 1st. 11 personnel. Six-block vs four-man rush
Patriots playing Cover 2. QB Mitch Trubisky doesn’t like his first option, might’ve been Pat Freiermuth down the seam who is being carried well vertically, and Trubisky thinks he has an opening up the middle to scramble for the first down.
But the gap closes up as he scrambles up through the pocket, the RDE either on a twist/game or sensing Trubisky start to hitch up, looping inside and taking him down. And down he goes short of the marker.
Instead of rushing for eight yards, he’s sacked for a loss of one. I get the picture Trubisky was seeing here, but that’s a portrait that changes when you move in the pocket, especially against zone defenders who are keying you and converging. Hindsight is 20/20, but had he hung in the pocket, and he had no pressure, that left side may have opened up with the seam stretchers and Johnson underneath, putting that cloud corner in conflict.
Blame: Mitch Trubisky
2. 3rd and 9, 8:33 3rd. 11 personnel. Five-block + RB chip vs four-man rush
RB Jaylen Warren is in a wing alignment to help chip. Doesn’t stay in to pick up the dual blitz from the field side. Not sure if he’s supposed to or not; if I had to guess, I don’t think he was. The wing alignment sorta changes things. The Patriots do well to hold and disguise their blitz until the ball is snapped.
At right tackle, Jones uses his backside drag hand to feel for an interior rush first before trying to pick up the NCB blitz. He gets a piece but not all of the corner, it’s a tough block to stick to. Trubisky understandably feels some of that heat and starts to step up for an escape lane, dropping his eyes. Pittsburgh’s core concept is running three verts, and the Patriots are playing off and carrying it. TE Pat Freiermuth does leak out near the marker to the top, but Trubisky doesn’t see him, and he gets swallowed up.
This is a tough one to assess. There is some pressure, and Trubisky was correct to feel that. It would’ve been nice to see him scan and look for an outlet, even Warren underneath, to try to make something happen. He again looks to tuck and run, something he did often in the game. But it’s easy to break this down from a slow-motion view and pick it apart.
End of the day, I’ll put the blame in two places. A tip of the cap to the Patriots for a solid scheme and call. Bill Belichick can still coach a defense. Trubisky looked too frantic here when he had some options to get the ball away, even if it was short of the marker. And Jones, it’s a tough play, but he didn’t get enough of the NCB, and that caused Trubisky to start squirming in the pocket, leading to the sack.
Blame: Half on Mitch Trubisky, half on Broderick Jones
Sack Breakdown (Game)
Mitch Trubisky: 1.5
Broderick Jones: 0.5
Penalty Breakdown (Game – Accepted Penalties Only)
None.
SACK BREAKDOWN (SEASON)
Dan Moore Jr.: 4.5
Mason Cole: 3.5
Coverage/Scheme: 3.5
Jaylen Warren: 3.0
Kenny Pickett: 2.5
Matt Canada: 1.5
Chukwuma Okorafor: 1.5
Mitch Trubisky: 1.5
Isaac Seumalo: 1.0
Receivers: 1.0
Najee Harris: 1.0
James Daniels: 1.0
Broderick Jones: 0.5
Nate Herbig: 0.5
Penalty Breakdown (Season – Accepted Penalties Only)
Chukwuma Okorafor: 4
Mason Cole: 1
James Daniels: 1
Broderick Jones: 1
Isaac Seumalo: 1
