Jayden Daniels will present a unique challenge to the Pittsburgh Steelers this afternoon. Not only is he one of the best passers in the league this season, but he has the high-end athleticism to extend plays with his legs or take off running for big gains. He has almost 2,000 passing yards while having 459 rushing yards and has elevated the Commanders to the No. 3 offense in the NFL in both yards gained and points scored.
Rex Ryan has an idea of what the Steelers’ defense will look to do to slow him down.
“We are gonna destroy this guy,” Rex Ryan said of the Steelers’ plan to counter Daniels via ESPN’s NFL Sunday Countdown. “Trust me, I know Mike Tomlin. Very similar to somebody else I know. That’s what I’d be telling my guys, ‘We’re gonna hit this dude.’ And it’s not one hit that concerns me about taking him out. It’s how many hits. How many is this guy gonna take?”
The Steelers aren’t leading the league in sacks like they have in recent years, but their defensive front is still one of the best in football. Teams have been getting the ball out early and getting creative to slow down guys like T.J. Watt, especially while Alex Highsmith was out of the lineup with a groin injury.
Now they have both Watt and Highsmith, as well as trade-deadline addition Preston Smith.
The Commanders are without LT Cornelius Lucas and RT Andrew Wylie is questionable with a shoulder injury. According to Ari Meirov on X, Wylie is out for the game. Former Steeler Trent Scott will be going against T.J. Watt. Their tackles aren’t exactly in the best shape to handle the challenge of Watt and Highsmith.
Daniels has been sacked 17 times this season. The Steelers have traditionally been good against mobile quarterbacks with Lamar Jackson having some of his worst games against Pittsburgh over the years.
Sometimes the mesh-charge tactic of hitting the quarterback on read-option plays doesn’t work so well because it takes a defender out of the play for the rest of the run defense. With RB Brian Robinson Jr. out of the game due to a hamstring injury for the Commanders, it might be wise to use the mesh charge to make sure Daniels is feeling the pressure as often as possible.
The Steelers managed to get 12 QB hits on Daniel Jones and the New York Giants before the bye. If they can do something similar to Daniels, it could be a tough day for him and the Commanders’ offense.
