As we do every week to prepare you for the upcoming game, we give you our X-factor of the week. Sometimes it’s a player, unit, concept, or scheme. Here’s our Pittsburgh Steelers X-factor of the game against the Minnesota Vikings.
STEELERS VS VIKINGS X-FACTOR: DB JALEN RAMSEY
Arguably, the most significant move of an already eventful offseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers was to trade Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith. With Ramsey added to the unit, he was thought to give the Steelers plenty of flexibility in their secondary.
So far, we’ve seen that flexibility. Ramsey has played plenty of cornerback, but he also saw a healthy workload at free safety in the Steelers’ win over the New England Patriots last week. But he’s made plays all over the field. His most involved moments have been at cornerback, where he caused a game-sealing pass breakup in Week 1 and had his first interception as a Steeler in Week 2.
For the most part, Ramsey has done what the Steelers have asked him to do. He’s been solid in coverage, giving up a 58.8-percent completion rate and an 81.7 passer rating when targeted. However, he hasn’t been quite as influential against the run as Pittsburgh may have hoped. Ramsey has 10 tackles through three games and has already missed two on the year.
Those struggles against the run haven’t been limited to Ramsey, though. It’s been an issue for the entire unit. But the run could be the least of Jalen Ramsey, and the rest of the defense’s problems come Sunday.
That’s because the Vikings have quite a talented receiving corps, led by Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. Even though Minnesota is without its starting quarterback, they had no problem throwing the ball all over the field last week. Carson Wentz was efficient and has plenty of weapons to work with. It was against a lackluster Bengals’ defense, but Pittsburgh’s defense hasn’t been that great this year either, so it’s something to be concerned about.
This is a massive game for the Steelers. It means a lot for the franchise and the Rooney family, and it would also be an enormous boost for the Steelers to head into their bye week with a 3-1 record. They’ll need their best players to step up this week, including Jalen Ramsey.
