The Pittsburgh Steelers threw the ball downfield more in their 13-6 win over the Denver Broncos in Week 2, and one reason for that was due to Clete Blakeman and his crew. QB Justin Fields said that they knew coming in that Blakeman’s crew threw the most flags for defensive pass interference last year, and so it was part of the game plan to take more shots.
“We knew coming into this game that this crew threw the most DPIs last year, so we knew that coming in and that was a big effect on taking those shots downfield. If you have a deep threat like George [Pickens], you have DBs scared of getting beat deep, it’s really us or nobody. That’s the thing we preach 1-on-1, it’s either gonna be a catch, an incompletion, or a DPI,” Fields said via the team’s YouTube channel.
Blakeman’s crew threw 20 flags for defensive pass interference last season. The Steelers were able to draw two big ones against Denver, with CB Riley Moss getting penalized in the first half which gave the Steelers 27 yards and set up a field goal at the end of the half. CB Patrick Surtain was also flagged in the second half for DPI, with the Steelers picking up 37 yards on that penalty, which helped set up a field goal as well.
It’s interesting to hear that the officiating crew helped factor into the game plan for Pittsburgh throwing deep, and it also likely helped that Denver is a team that runs a lot of man coverage, setting up a lot of one-on-one opportunities that the Steelers took advantage of. Fields was more aggressive taking shots than in Week 1, which makes sense given that Denver’s secondary isn’t as good as Atlanta’s was last week.
The Steelers could’ve had a 51-yard completion on a beautiful downfield throw to Pickens from Fields had it not been for a holding penalty against Broderick Jones, and Fields did look pretty good throwing the ball downfield. The two big gains from the defensive pass interference penalties set up two field goals that wound up being the difference in the game, and if Fields can have similar success throwing deep next week against the Chargers, the Steelers should be in a good spot.
Pickens is a major weapon down the field and all things considered had a solid outing today, especially given the fact he was covered by All-Pro CB Patrick Surtain II the majority of the game. If his chemistry with Fields continues to build, the Steelers could get more dangerous offensively with their downfield passing attack.
