By: CJ Lester, @CJLester58
SteelerNation.com
On Wednesday night, Week 12 finally came to an end for the NFL after the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Baltimore Ravens 19-14. After a few postponements by the NFL, the Steelers-Ravens match-up took place on Wednesday at a very unusual 3:40pm EST kickoff time. The Steelers struggled heavily, but ended up tacking on another win on the season to improve to 11-0. The Steelers have had a couple of games this season in which they didn’t perform well, but still won the game. A win is a win, no matter how pretty. An ugly win will always be better than a loss, but the Steelers have quite a few things to work to improve on before this week’s matchup against the Washington Football Team. This team doesn’t look to make excuses, so I won’t try to sugarcoat their performance against the Ravens. One of the most notable struggles during the game was the Steelers’ receivers dropping several passes on the day. The Steelers’ pass catchers totaled 8 drops on the day on Wednesday afternoon.
Last week in review
The three things I noted that we should keep an eye on last week were:
- Stop the Run!
The Steelers defense’ struggled to stop the run in the first matchup against the Ravens and gave up a total of 265 yards on the ground. This time around the Ravens did have some success running the ball especially with Robert Griffin III, who ran for 68 yards on 7 carries. The backup quarterback was the team’s leading rusher. The Steelers’ defense was able to hold the Ravens rushing attack to 129 yards on Wednesday, which is a little over 20 yards more than their per game average this season.
- Continued Use of 4 and 5 wide receiver sets
This time around against the Ravens, the Steelers employed 4 and 5 WR sets much earlier in the game. The Steelers had some success, but struggled to catch passes on crucial downs to continue drives. The 8 dropped passes killed any life the offense had on Wednesday afternoon.
- Jump Out to an Early Lead, Force the Ravens to Pass
Well, Wednesday Afternoon Football didn’t go as I had hoped. I wanted to see the Steelers go up early on the Ravens and put them away early on in the game to force the Ravens to pass in order to attempt to come from behind. This was important in order to make the Ravens go against the grain and throw more passes than they are accustomed to. They are a much better run team than they are a passing team, with or without QB Lamar Jackson in the starting lineup. The Steelers weren’t able to take a double-digit lead until the 4th quarter, when the Steelers scored their first offensive touchdown of the game. The other touchdown came from a pick six by CB Joe Haden midway through the 1st quarter. The Steelers had some successful drives in which they drove down the field and got into the red-zone, but struggled scoring touchdowns. The Steelers went 1-4 in the red-zone on the day.
Let’s take a look at 3 things we should watch for in Week 13 against Washington:
- Next Man Up: OLB Alex Highsmith
The Steelers squeezed out a win on Wednesday afternoon, but the win did prove costly. The Steelers’ defense took another big hit with another star going down with a season-ending injury. OLB Bud Dupree tore his ACL in the matchup on Wednesday. We should get a good look at our rookie OLB Alex Highsmith in the matchup against Washington tomorrow evening. Highsmith has played well in the limited snaps he has taken this season. Coming into tomorrow, Highsmith has 1 sack, 20 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 QB Hit, and 1 interception on the season. The most defensive snaps Highsmith has played in a game came in Week 8 against the Ravens. Highsmith played 25 snaps in that game and captured his 1st career interception. More time for the youngster could be a great thing as he could be Dupree’s replacement next season. He’ll have some incredible shoes to fill coming in for Dupree, Dupree has totaled 8 sacks, 31 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 15 QB Hits, and 2 forced fumbles on the season. Washington becomes Highsmith’s first big test in this next man up situation for the rookie.
- Washington: Much Better than their 4-7 record
I know all Steeler fans are wanting the Steelers to blow out teams with poor records. This happens year in and year out. I guess we have become spoiled with constantly wanting more and expecting perfection. There is nothing wrong with this mindset, but you have to realize that all of these players are professional football players and are all capable of making plays! Washington might be 4-7 on the year, but they are a much better team than what their record shows, especially defensively. Washington ranks 4th in total yards given up per game this season. They rank 2nd in passing yards allowed per game on the year with an impressive secondary and an impressive ability to get to the opposing teams’ QB. Washington is also tied for 2nd in the league in sacks. The Steelers’ offensive line will have their work cut out for them to keep QB Ben Roethlisberger upright tomorrow evening. Roethlisberger hasn’t been sacked since Week 8 in Baltimore. Look for Washington to come after Roethlisberger early and often with the likes of Montez Sweat, Ryan Kerrigan, and standout rookie Chase Young. The Steelers will most likely counter with quick passes and look to get the ball out early as they have all season.
- Keep Washington’s Playmakers in Check
If the Steelers are going to improve to 12-0 and keep this undefeated season going tomorrow evening, they cannot give up big plays to Washington. Washington has a couple of young players that have shown the ability to keep them in games and completely take games over. WR Terry McLaurin has 69 receptions for 963 yards and 3 touchdowns on the season. This has been accomplished with the carousel of QBs that have roamed through the starting QB position this season. McLaurin is 5th in receiving yards in the NFL in just his 2nd season. In the running game, Washington has turned to rookie RB, Antonio Gibson. Gibson scored 3 touchdowns on the ground on Thanksgiving against the Dallas Cowboys, rushing for 115 yards on 20 carries. On the season, Gibson has 139 carries for 645 yards and 11 touchdowns. The rookie is good enough to be 3rd in the league in touchdowns. The Steelers cannot let Gibson or McLaurin take the game over tomorrow evening or it could be a long day.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? What should we watch for in Week 13 against Washington? Sound off in the comment section below, or on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
