Welcome back to the “One random Steelers play” series. For the full details, feel free to check out this article. But for the TL;DR: We’re using a random number generator to pick a Steelers play from the 2025 season to analyze.
This time around, the Google random number generator chose Week 8 of the season, and play No. 62. That would be the Steelers’ midseason home loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Let’s take a look.
The context: Pittsburgh has the ball. It’s first and 10 with the ball on the Steelers’
16-yard line. There is 4:06 left in the second quarter. The Steelers are up 9-7.
Here’s the play:
As always, let’s start with a pause pre-snap.
The Steelers were a big jumbo package team last year with Arthur Smith, and this play is no different. Sixth lineman Spencer Anderson and blocking tight end Darnell Washington are lined up together, a bit off the ball outside left tackle Broderick Jones. Leaning into the theme, the Steelers also have their two most physical receivers on the field: DK Metcalf and Ben Skowronek, with the latter lined up tight on the left side of the formation.
The Packers counter the Steelers’ seven blockers with seven defenders in the box.
The play is a toss to the strong side, with center Zach Frazier and left tackle Broderick Jones climbing upfield immediately to take on the middle linebackers. There isn’t room for any double-teams or combo blocks: just one-on-one blocking across the board.
The blocking that results isn’t pretty, but it’s enough to get a sizable gain on first down. Broderick Jones whiffs trying to connect with Quay Walker (Packers linebacker No. 9), but he’s primarily focused on preventing Walker from crossing his face, and achieves exactly that, keeping the linebacker out of play. Similarly, Frazier has a tough time matching Edgerrin Cooper’s speed (linebacker No. 56), but keeps his momentum going to cause Cooper to overrun the play.
Spencer Anderson probably wasn’t too happy about drawing Micah Parsons, probably the second-best defender in the world, as a key block, but holds his own. Assisted a bit by Parsons taking an inside move, Anderson is able to get on the edge defender’s outside shoulder and give Jaylen Warren the exact amount of time needed to scoot by.
The weakest link on this play is probably Darnell Washington, who gets a good initial push on Isaiah McDuffie (linebacker No. 58), but lunges a bit much and allows McDuffe to get back inside, allowing the defender to eventually close and bring Warren down. If Washington secures that block, the play probably gets a first down and a bit more (Warren still earns nine yards, running hard as always).
And as always, wide receiver Ben Skowronek deserves some credit, eliminating Carrington Valentine (cornerback No. 24) on the play side. Not every receiver could be trusted with such an assignment.
A few more things that stood out to me:
- You can see DK Metcalf initially looking for the ball on the far side of the play — a quick pass was probably a check for Aaron Rodgers here, which was wisely avoided as the Packers rotate from a two-high shell to a single-high look, with the safety shooting downfield to where Metcalf was running. I also appreciate how Metcalf didn’t check out of the play immediately, but kept running with his blocking assignment.
- With Frazier moving upfield, Mason McCormick doesn’t have the easiest assignment crossing Colby Wooden’s (defensive tackle No. 96) face immediately off the snap, but he does so with easy athleticism.
- Jaylen Warren’s forward momentum is awesome here. He gets well over five yards after McDuffie makes initial contact.
While the Steelers would lose this game, they did score a touchdown on this drive, jumping to a 16-7 lead before the half.
A straightforward zone toss, this play might not be as schematically interesting as past entries in this series (blame the random number generator gods), but it does showcase just how much individual efforts contribute to the whole on every play.
What are your takeaways from this play? Join the BTSC community and let us know in the comments.
