The Pittsburgh Steelers will have their hands full this week trying to slow down Maxx Crosby. That challenge is going to fall primarily on Broderick Jones with Crosby playing over 80 percent of his snaps on the left side of the defense.
Crosby missed one game a couple weeks ago, but in the four games he has played, he already had five sacks and seven tackles for loss. Against the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens, he had a combined four sacks and six tackles for loss. He is capable of completely taking over a game as one of the best players in the league.
“Love the way he plays. Maxx plays hard. I think he plays the game the way it should be played,” Cameron Heyward said on his Not Just Football podcast. “As a defender, you talk mess, you back it up. Maxx does that week in and week out.
“Week in and week out, you look at that guy and you say, he travels with two guys. There’s no way you leave him on an island or you’re gonna be in for a long day. He is top five at his position.”
Similar to what the Steelers have with T.J. Watt, you have to account for Crosby on every play and that includes committing extra blockers to him as often as possible. For the Steelers, they will have guys like Darnell Washington helping out on the edge.
QB Justin Fields is scheduled to start his sixth game. He has been a little better about getting the ball out quicker than he did in 2023, but he still holds onto the ball slightly longer than your average NFL quarterback. Through five games, Fields has taken 13 sacks. If he plays 13 games like he did in 2023, that comes out to a pace of about 34 sacks taken, which is down from the 44 he took last year.
That being said, the sacks taken have been on an uptick in the past two weeks. After taking six over the first three weeks, Fields took seven combined sacks over the last two games. The offensive line has been in flux a bit, but Week 6 should be the first time all season that the Steelers have started the same combination of players in back-to-back weeks.
Crosby didn’t practice on Wednesday with an ankle issue, but it doesn’t sound like his status is in question. Maybe he will be slightly hampered though.
They can’t allow Crosby to take over the game. In three career games against the Steelers, Crosby has just one sack. They have managed to limit him pretty well. Pro Football Focus has Jones down for four sacks allowed this season. Chances are good there will be at least one on Sunday against Crosby.
