Breaking down the one sack the Pittsburgh Steelers allowed in Sunday’s Week 17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
1. 3rd and 8, 11:09 2nd. 11 personnel (empty). Five block vs. six rush
A third down red zone sack. Those are just killers. Pittsburgh is out in empty with RB Jaylen Warren as a wing/chipper and the other receivers running vertically.
Seattle sends max-pressure, a six-man rush. With only five Steelers’ blockers, QB Mason Rudolph must get the ball out quickly on a hot read. It’s actually pretty wild that the Seahawks’ rush took this long to get home. Despite having an “on-paper” free rusher, Rudolph still had over two seconds in the pocket.
Seattle matches and carries the verticals but had a coverage bust on Warren, either from miscommunication in the back end or because one of their rushes should’ve taken Warren if he went out in the flat. It’s a little curious why Warren didn’t stay in, but some teams, like the San Francisco 49ers and RB Christian McCaffrey, will have their back leak out instead of protecting and throw the ball to him, getting the ball in space as opposed to blocking.
Regardless, Jaylen Warren ends up wide open in the left flat. He likely scores if he gets the ball.
I understand Rudolph had his eyes downfield in the hopes something opens up. But when the defense has more rushing than you’re blocking, you don’t have time for routes to develop, especially vertical ones. The ball has to come out. I don’t know why Rudolph didn’t immediately hit his hot read, Warren, once Seattle brought the house. The pocket collapsed, and Rudolph went down.
A weird play, and I wonder if there was miscommunication on the Steelers’ end. But based on what I know and am seeing, I’m putting this on Rudolph for not hitting his hot when he didn’t have enough blockers to stop Seattle’s rush.
Blame: Mason Rudolph
Sack Breakdown (Game)
Mason Rudolph: 1
Penalty Breakdown (Game)
None
SACK BREAKDOWN (SEASON)
Dan Moore Jr.: 5.5
Mason Cole: 3.5
Coverage/Scheme: 3.5
Jaylen Warren: 3.0
Kenny Pickett: 2.5
Broderick Jones: 2.0
James Daniels: 2.0
Najee Harris: 2.0
Matt Canada: 1.5
Chukwuma Okorafor: 1.5
Mitch Trubisky: 1.5
Mason Rudolph: 1.5
Isaac Seumalo: 1.0
Receivers: 1.0
Nate Herbig: 0.5
PENALTY BREAKDOWN (SEASON – ACCEPTED PENALTIES ONLY)
Chukwuma Okorafor: 4
Mason Cole: 2
James Daniels: 2
Dan Moore Jr.: 2
Broderick Jones: 1
Isaac Seumalo: 1
