The Pittsburgh Steelers will play their ninth game of the 2024 regular season on Sunday afternoon on the road against the Washington Commanders. They’ll enter that contest as a slight underdog as well. Below are five key things that I believe the Steelers will need to do to come away with their seventh win of the season.
Commanders Of Run Attack – The Washington running game so far this season is fun to watch on tape as new OC Kliff Kingsbury really has it dialed in. The Washington offense uses a lot of eye candy in the form of some motions and a lot of offensive linemen pulling. In fact, all five positions have been asked to pull so far this season and oftentimes it’s multiple on one play. The Commanders will use misdirection and the zone-read with rookie QB Jayden Daniels. Sometimes you will even see two running backs in the backfield and both as sidecars to Daniels. Their running attack is tough to shut down and especially the zone-read plays.
According to Dan Orlovsky of ESPN, the Commanders’ zone-read plays have produced 581 rushing yards so far this season and no other team is within 200 of that total. To add to that, Daniels leads the NFL in scramble yards so far this season with 327 on 39 of them. In total, Daniels has 459 yards rushing on the season on 82 total attempts. As a team, the Commanders have rushed for 1475 yards on 293 attempts so far this season for an average of 5 yards. Washington also has 36 runs of 10 yards or longer on the season. The Steelers’ defense struggled against the New York Giants before their bye week and the Commanders’ running game is a lot better than that one that they recently faced. If the Steelers defense struggles against the Commanders’ running game on Sunday, it could make for a long day and a road loss at the end of it.
Size Up Shorter Sainristil – Even though the Commanders traded for CB Marshon Lattimore this past week, they will not have him on Sunday as he has already been ruled out for the Week 10 contest with a hamstring injury. That likely means that rookie CB Mike Sainristil will get the start at an outside position just as he’s done the last two games. Sainristil is a shorter cornerback, and he measured in at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine at 5093. The Commanders have him listed at 5-10 and that’s probably generous of them. Regardless of Sainristil’s official height, the Steelers should probably think about attacking the rookie cornerback on Sunday and especially whenever he might line up against either George Pickens (6032) or newcomer Mike Williams (6036) because of the size advantage each has.
If Steelers QB Russell Wilson can deliver the football up high to either Pickens or Williams when lined up against Sainristil, chances are good either receiver might come down with it. According to Pro Football Focus, Sainristil has been targeted 37 times so far this season and he’s allowed 26 receptions for 250 yards and three touchdowns in 285 total coverage snaps. Sainristil is best suited to play in the slot at the NFL level and he would be doing that more for Washington if not for the injuries they have had at the cornerback position. He needs to be tested thoroughly on Sunday.
Zone In Inside The Red Zone – The Steelers offense has certainly made a lot of positive strides so far this season under new OC Arthur Smith. While we are seeing the Steelers’ offense move the football down the field with regularity, the unit’s inability to finish deep-drive possessions with touchdowns instead of field goals has to be something that gets fixed with the bye week now behind us. The Steelers enter Week 10 with a red zone percentage of just 46.43 (13 of 28) and that ranks them 30th overall in the NFL. On top of that, the Steelers also have a goal to go percentage of just 50.00 (7 of 14) entering Week 10 and that ranks them last in the NFL.
On Sunday, the Steelers’ offense will face a Commanders’ defense that has struggled when it comes to red zone percentages. 69.23% of all red zone opportunities against the Commanders have been successful so far this season and that ties them for 27th overall in the NFL. If the Steelers can’t finish a higher percentage of red zone drives on Sunday against this Commanders’ defense, the team very well could come back from Washington with their third loss of the season. We need to see more red zone touchdowns in lieu of field goals.
Be Wary Of Scary Terry – The Commanders’ offensive passing game is built off their fantastic running game and the main target within that is WR Terry McLaurin. So far this season, McLaurin has 42 receptions for 598 yards and six touchdowns. He is the only player on the team with more than one touchdown reception as well. While the Commanders’ offense has only completed 13 passes that included air yards of 20 or longer, McLaurin has been on the receiving end of six of those for 259, which is nearly half of his reception yards on the season. On the 29 third down passing conversions this season that the Commanders have, McLaurin has been on the receiving end of 10 of those and no other player has more than four.
Will the Steelers let CB Joey Porter Jr. travel with McLaurin on Sunday? It’s hard to answer that question with certainty and especially with McLaurin lining up sometimes in the slot. Regardless of who covers McLaurin on Sunday, the Steelers defense must ensure that “Scary Terry” doesn’t have a huge game and thus the unit needs to make the Washington passing game go through other eligibles to move the football through the air.
Happy Returns From The Happy Returning Returner – The Steelers signed RB Cordarrelle Patterson early in the offseason and one reason for that was because he’s such a great kickoff returner. Patterson, however, has yet to return a single kickoff so far this season and that’s partly because he’s missed the last four games with an ankle injury. Patterson is presumably back healthy now and is set to return to action on Sunday against the Commanders. That means he should resume his role as the team’s kickoff returner.
Entering Week 10, the Commanders have allowed a league-high 41 kickoff returns in their first nine games. Those returns have equated to 1,037 yards., which averages out to 25.3 yards an attempt. The Commanders might also have a new kicker on Sunday as Austin Seibert has been limited in practice this past week with a hip injury. Zane Gonzalez was signed to the practice squad on Friday, and he was elevated to the active/inactive roster on Saturday. Patterson is probably champing at the bit to return his first kickoff as a member of the Steelers and if he gets the opportunity to do so once or twice, a huge return or two could really impact the game.
