Steelers Week 10 Reaction

 Oh boy! So most Sundays I like to go over to my parent's place for dinner and this Sunday was no different. When I walk in the door bragging about my Steelers winning again to go to 7-2 on the season, my dad tells me that they haven't exactly been convincing wins. I had to kindly let him know that Steelers wins haven't been convincing for the last 20 years, this is Steelers football baby!  Another big one as the Steelers show they can find a way to win like the best of them: 

Hard Count

How can you not start here? Inside of 2 minutes with all 3 timeouts, Washington had the ball on 4th and long, outside of field goal range. Being down a point, this was 4 down territory, the Commanders lined up to go for it. Daniels completed the pass to his tight end who was stamped literally right at the first down line. After much deliberation, the officials determined that the receiver did not obtain the first down by just a few inches, Steelers football. With all 3 timeouts left, Washington still had a chance to get 3 stops and get the ball back, and they did just that. The Steelers, playing conservatively, ran the ball up the middle 3 times but only got 9 yards out of it, it was 4th and a long 1 with the ball on midfield. Then came a play you see a hundred times a year in football, the good ol' fashioned send the offense out there to try and bait an offside penalty then punt when it doesn't work. Only this time, it worked. On the very first fake "HUT" the Commanders lineman jumped offside for the penalty, the Steelers get a first down, Russel Wilson does a cheesy dance, game over. In all my time watching football, I've never actually seen a game end on a hard count like that, just a lapse in judgement from the Commanders. I will certainly take it!

Tomlin vs Rookie QBs

A crazy stat to come out of this one, Mike Tomlin is now 26-6 when coaching against a rookie QB in his career. Add Jayden Daniels, who I've been calling a star on this blog non-stop, to the list. The Steelers played Jayden Daniels a lot like they play Lamar Jackson, who they've also had great success against. Both QBs thrive when allowed to get out of the pocket and make plays happen with their legs or arms off of scrambling defenses. The Steelers did a great job of keeping Daniels in the pocket and forcing him to be more of a traditional QB. Daniels entered this game with 51 rushing yards per game, Lamar Jacksonesque. The Steelers held him to just 5, showing their discipline and ability to keep a rushing QB in the pocket beautifully. Coming into this game, Daniels had a completion percentage up above 70%, the Steelers held him to 17/34 through the air, again showing how effective the defense can be. I will give Daniels credit, his teammates did drop a few easy catches in this one that would've made his day look a lot better than it was, but still mixed in there was a few easy throws that need to hit their target if Daniels wants to get to that next level as a passer. 

This is not an indictment on Daniels, I think this game was a good learning opportunity for him. As we've seen with similarly skilled Lamar Jackson, in the playoffs this is how defenses are going to play him. Daniels still made some big plays and orchestrated some big drives, but ultimately 17/34 on mostly passes from the pocket isn't going to be enough to get it done at the highest level very often. Still though, for the regular season he only has to see rookie QB killer Tomlin once, he should see a bounce back in his next one. 

Russell Wilson Makes The Steelers True Contenders

Did I say 50% completion percentage isn't going to be enough to get it done at the highest level? I clearly didn't check Russ' stats before the last paragraph. Wilson was just 14/28 but had some big timely completions and 3 TDs. That's right folks, a Steelers QB had 3 passing TDs, we are so back! More so than I ever thought he would, Russ elevates this receiving core, most notably George Pickens, in a way I don't think Fields could replicate. The first TD to Pickens was a beautifully thrown high arcing jump-ball in the end zone, just trusting his big possession receiver to go make a play, and Pickens made a great one. He had another deep ball touchdown to new Steeler Mike Williams, putting so much air under the ball that gave Williams a lifetime to adjust and make the catch, one of his strengths as well. The Steelers had to come back in this one after getting down 10 points in the second half. Wilson did what he has done his entire career, play with poise and make big plays when it mattered most. Wilson converted on some second and third and longs, got his teammates involved and overall was a stable veteran QB presence. Wilson wasn't perfect again on Sunday, but for the first time since Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers have a QB who can calm it down and get results in the clutch, with the talent on defense, that's a contender to me. 

Critical Mistakes Can be Forgotten

Frequently lost in a win are the critical errors made by the winning team. We'll be talking a lot about that in my 5 thoughts piece tomorrow with Jarred Goff throwing 5 picks and still coming away with the win. In this game though, the Steelers were actually sloppier than usual but it didn't end up mattering in the end. In the first half, the Steelers drew up a fake punt from deep in their own territory, and it actually almost worked perfectly. The Steelers gunner James Pierre was wide open and had the pass slip through his hands for a drop. The Commanders took over around the 20 yard line and scored a TD on that possession, an absolute disaster. Later in the 4th quarter with the Steelers down 6, after a great drive down the field, Jalen Warren fumbled the football at the 1 yard line, recovered by the Commanders, yet another disaster.  Finally, throughout the game Joey Porter Jr committed a ton of obvious penalties. It kind of drove me nuts to see him celebrating, oblivious to the flag thrown behind him only to get caught off guard that the ref actually saw him obviously grabbing the receiver on his route. 

OK, so you've got a failed trick play that lead to 7 points, a turnover at a critical time in the red zone and a star cornerback who can't keep his hands to himself all game, and yet the Steelers still win. Shows the Steelers ability to put the last play behind them and perform in the clutch, but also shows that the Commanders are still a young team who needs to learn to capitalize on these opportunities. Never the less, I am happy that my article today isn't starting off with critical errors. 

The Steelers now sit at 7-2, first place in the AFC North and yet they haven't played a single AFC North divisional game yet. That's right, 6 of the final 8 Steelers games will be against division rivals. No matter the team construction, those always prove to be tight games that come down to the final play. I am thrilled with how the season has gone so far, but if we're being realistic, the real test is coming up in the second half. If the Steelers can go 4-2 in the division, they should be in a good place heading into the playoffs. Time will tell if they can keep it going, for now lets celebrate this fun win!