After a rough start to the season, the Pittsburgh Steelers have done a much better job protecting Aaron Rodgers. Despite being sacked seven times in the first two games, Rodgers has only gone down twice in the last four. A couple of different improvements and adjustments have led to that, and it’s enough to convince FS1’s Danny Parkins that they’ll be able to quiet the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
“The Steelers have the recipe to stifle the Packers’ pass rush,” Parkins said Wednesday on First Things First. “They figured it out. Now you might question the ceiling of an offense like this. But 22.6 is their pressure percentage allowed, second-best in the NFL over the past month. Second-fastest time to throw in the last month, Aaron Rodgers… That’s the formula in Pittsburgh.”
The Steelers completely shut down a Bengals’ pass rush that was missing Trey Hendrickson last Thursday. The Packers are a different beast, though. Their pass rush is led by Micah Parsons, who just had three sacks against Arizona last Sunday. That brings his total to 5.5 for the season, which ties Rashan Gary for the most on the team. Those two also have 10 combined tackles for a loss, so they can make plays against the run, too.
However, the Steelers have been much better at avoiding sacks over the last month. And just a couple of weeks ago, they were able to keep Myles Garrett quiet. A lot of that actually comes from the experience Aaron Rodgers brings. He reads the defense well before the snap, which helps him find a receiver and get the ball out quicker than just about any quarterback in the league this year. His cadence is also a weapon, making it harder for the defensive line to get a good jump off the snap.
However, the improvement from the line has been noticeable. Broderick Jones and the rest of the unit have been much better recently. But Arthur Smith has had a hand in the success as well. He’s doing a great job helping his young tackles out, and Jones particularly got a lot of help with chips during that game against Cleveland.
The Steelers’ line is building some consistency, but they now face a Packers’ pass rush that’s about as hot as it can get. The winner of that battle will be a significant factor in the outcome of Sunday’s game.
