In Sunday’s Week 10 matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Washington Commanders, things will be rather tight between the two teams.
While the Commanders have an elite, high-scoring offense, the Steelers have a dominant defense. The Steelers’ offense likes to push the ball down the field and create explosive plays in the passing game, but the Commanders’ pass defense is one of the stingiest in the NFL, allowing just 183.3 yards per game through the air.
So, something’s got to give, right?
One would think. The one advantage the Steelers have offensively is that the Commanders are a poor run defense, allowing the fourth-most yards per game on the ground at 143.0 on the season. So, the Steelers should be able to run the football and control the game.
According to ESPN’s Mina Kimes, for Washington to have a chance, the commanders will have to create pressure on quarterback Russell Wilson and force him to become uncomfortable and make plays out of structure, which is something he hasn’t been all that good at in recent years.
Appearing on NFL Live Friday, Kimes explained how the Commanders can be successful defensively against a Steelers’ offense that has looked quite good recently.
“Here’s the hard part about doing multiple segments on the Steelers’ offense. We’re all kind of gonna say the same thing because we all know exactly what the Steelers offense wants to do and that, right? That’s the nice thing for Washington. You know, they wanna push the ball downfield outside the numbers, as RC [Ryan Clark] talked about. Outside zone in the run game. They’re gonna use under center, play-action. The problem for the Commanders is they can’t really stop any of those three things,” Kimes said of the Commanders’ defense against the Steelers. “I think their best chance of success in this one starts with pressure, and they have, by the way, impressed me with their ability to get pressure in recent weeks. I think that’s been the single biggest improvement with this defense.
“Whether it’s blitzing with [Bobby] Wagner, [Frankie] Luvu or Johnny Newton getting pressure up the middle. Your best chance of stopping Russell Wilson is to make him uncomfortable to make him hold onto the football because he is not as good creating outside the pocket as he used to be. If they can’t do that, then I think they will struggle.”
Of course, creating pressure on any quarterback is key, especially up the middle into his face, taking away any pocket to step up into to avoid pressure off the outside.
In the early stages of his career, that type of pressure wasn’t always an issue for Wilson, as he had the athleticism to escape out of the pocket and make plays out of structure. Though he still has some mobility in his game, he’s not what he once was in that aspect, which makes pressure all the more important for opposing defenses.
So, if the Commanders can generate pressure up the middle, it will be quite difficult for the Steelers’ passing attack to succeed, as it has in the last two weeks with Wilson. Having pieces like Newton, Wagner, and Luvu, not to mention Da’Ron Payne, is key for the Commanders, who will be able to generate pressure either with blitzes or by letting their DL win.
Newton has been especially good recently, generating eight pressures in the last two weeks, including seven in Week 8.
The good news for the Steelers, though, is that they should be getting rookie center Zach Frazier back after missing two weeks with an ankle injury. Prior to the injury, Frazier allowed just four pressures all season and hasn’t allowed a sack, either. He pairs well with Isaac Seumalo and Mason McCormick on the interior, which should give the Steelers an answer against some of the interior pressure the Commanders will try to produce.
If Washington can’t generate that pressure, Wilson could have a big day against a Commanders secondary, with the likes of George Pickens and new trade deadline acquisition Mike Williams making plays down the field for the Black and Gold.
