Quick film room today on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ passing game against the New York Jets. While QB Russell Wilson played well and settled in during his debut, OC Arthur Smith also came up with a great game plan.
Throughout the game, the Steelers used bunch formations and picks and switch releases to beat the Jets’ man coverage. New York never answered. They were consistently rubbed and fighting through traffic, allowing Pittsburgh’s receivers to gain a step downfield or simply get wide open.
The video is below me talking through each clip.
Clip No. 1 – The only incompletion here. A 2×2 formation pre-snap. Post/wheel route with No. 2 receiver Calvin Austin III, slot to the bottom, running the wheel down the left sideline. George Pickens is on the post. Ball underthrown and Pickens has to slow up and try to reach through the DB for the ball, nearly making but unable to haul in the pass.
Clip No. 2 – A 3×1 bunch formation to the top, TE Pat Freiermuth to the bottom. Pickens is the no. 3 pre-snap. He runs under the “point man” Van Jefferson and gets a step on his defender on the wheel down the right sideline. Has a step on the CB and is able to track and make a great juggling catch for a big gain downfield.
Clip No. 3 – A 2×2 with mirrored routes to both sides. No. 1 receivers on the outside run curls to set the rub with No. 2 running wheels around them. Jets DBs don’t play this well to the top, staying on the same plane/level compared to the bottom at different depths and avoiding the rub.
Allows Freiermuth to gain a step and he dives to make a spectacular one-handed grab down the right side.
Clip No. 4 – A 2×2 twin receiver set to the bottom. Again, Jets play this wrong with DBs on the same level. Both have their heels on the goal line. Jefferson in the slot runs underneath Pickens and the Jets’ slot corner has no way to cover all that ground in such a confined space. Pitch and catch from Wilson to Jefferson for the latter’s first touchdown of the season. Well-deserved for all the dirty work he did throughout the game.
Clip No. 5 – A 3×1 formation. Austin and Pickens stacked to the bottom. Both receivers release vertically off the line but Austin, to the outside, stems his release inside of Pickens. Yet again, the Jets struggle to adjust to it with the two DBs to the bottom getting stuck on Pickens.
Austin is wide open over the middle, and it turns into a 36-yard completion.
Here’s each clip.
Tip of the hat to some great catches and the Jets really had a terrible game plan. But the scheme also played a role in getting these guys open. The structure played well for quarterback and receivers and led to the biggest gains Pittsburgh had in the air throughout the night.
