Welcome to the Week 2 Pittsburgh Steelers mailbag. I just checked the weather for the next week here in the 412, and it isn’t supposed to reach 80 degrees over the next nine days, most of which will be in the 60’s – I think we’re in the clear (he said hopefully).
Pittsburgh will travel to Foxborough to face the New England Patriots, so before then, I’ll dump out all the contents of the mailbag and get your questions answered. Let’s dive in.
Q: Last week Roman Wilson was behind the defense on a PI call,
DK was behind the defense on an overthrown slot go route on the 3rd play of the game, DK was behind the defense on the non-PI call go route down the left sideline, and DK was behind the defense on the crosser that he dropped. Are you encouraged by the near misses on chunk plays in the passing game enough to outweigh the horrendous run game? – Blkgldtom
A: I don’t know if it outweighs how bad the run game was, but I am encouraged about the fact that they are taking shots. They almost certainly won’t go 0-for-9 on them again, and if not for drops and penalties, they would have hit on a handful of the nine deep shots. So that’s encouraging. But the run game needs to figure it out.
Q: What are some weaknesses in the Pats’ defense that the Steelers have the personnel to exploit in week two? – SteelerSince73!
A: It’s hard to find any glaring weaknesses (mostly because there isn’t one). If there is any tendency that could favor the Steelers, it’s that the Patriots deployed light box looks at the 10th-highest rate in the league last season. Could be a good way to get some chunk runs if their offensive line can win in the trenches.
Q: Do you think we will get the run game going a bit more this week? I see Pittman did not practice today. Is this a flare up of what happened to him in camp? How do you think our corner backs look going up against the Patriots top WRs. What is the impact for them to not have AJ Brown playing? How much improvement do you expect in week 2? – steelwoman
A: The Patriots have a very good defensive line – much better than that of the Falcons – so I have concerns. I’d start Max Iheanachor at right tackle, Dylan Cook was very bad in Week 1. I’m not sure if Pittman’s injury is related to his camp injury, hopefully being held out of practice is more of a precaution and we see him on Sunday. If not, more snaps for Germie Bernard. I have faith in the secondary, especially in a zone-heavy scheme. I’m going to be going a closer look/keys to victory type piece later on today where I go a bit more in depth on it.
Q: Who wins the battle, DK or Gonzalez? And what constitutes a win for you? – RenoSteelersFan
A: Gonzalez will win the battle for the majority of the day. If Metcalf can haul in 5+ receptions for 60+ yards, I’d be pleased.
Q: What sort of usage are we generally seeing of our 3 edge/outside linebacker sets? What is the benefit of playing Herbig off ball if we also have other off ball backers? – elmango30
A: Alex Highsmith had 41 snaps in Week 1, Nick Herbig had 39. T.J. Watt had 38. They can either drop Herbig into coverage when he’s off-ball, or they can still send him at the quarterback from that spot. It’s a good way to diversify their looks while getting all three guys on the field at one time.
Q: How do you keep Steelers fans from jumping off a ledge when things don’t go perfect every game? Sure, winning is the main thing. But the ledgers hover and are a pain in the ass even in a win and ruin every victory weekend. Ledgers, you know who you are, right? – Polamolecules_Dude
A: I get the ledgers to an extent because I was (and probably still am) one. Hell, for two years with Kenny Pickett, I came on here and said this isn’t going to work, I don’t care that they beat Will Levis or the Raiders 13-10 – the offense stunk and it wasn’t sustainable. And yeah, that annoys people when you say that after a win, but it doesn’t make it any less reasonable. However, especially early in the season, some games are going to be ugly and discombobulated. On a ledge scale of 1-10 last week, I was probably a 4. The opportunities were there, the defense looked great, and they largely dominated, despite what the final score was.
Q: Why Joey Porter Jr? I’m always listening to The Fan, so this isn’t my own question but one that I feel needs an answer. Why was the line drawn on Joey Porter Jr? – Pittsblitz56
A: I wish I knew. I do think Patrick Graham’s zone-heavy scheme has a good bit to do with it, considering Porter is a man-press corner. I’ve come around to the idea of trading him, though, so long as Asante Samuel is kept there long-term (assuming he has a good season).
Q: Jarrett, why do you so often use clickbait headlines, cherry-picked stats, and snippets of a larger picture to paint your narratives? This isn’t to say I always disagree with your overall opinion, but the way you often go about it is shoddy at best and unprofessional at worst. – Amperandsteel
A: When it comes to headlines, you want to lead the reader in. I’m not perfect and sometimes I’ll make a headline that is too over the top, so that’s a fair critique that I actively try to fix. In terms of the second part, that’s just incorrect, respectfully. There’s nothing unprofessional about how I present an argument, nor is there any difference between how I do it and how everyone else does it. You have an opinion on something and you back it with statistics. For example, a lot of people said the Steelers’ offense looked the same in Week 1 that it did under Tomlin because of the box score. My argument was, no it didn’t look the same. Rodgers attempted nine deep passes in Week 1 – he averaged just three such passes per game in 2025. They also threw the ball far more in Week 1 than they did in all but two games last season, and his average depth of target was north of 10 yards, something he didn’t do once last season. That isn’t me saying the offense doesn’t have room for improvement – it certainly does – but to say it’s somehow unprofessional is just not true.
Q: Riley Nowakowski. I didnt notice him at all on Sunday but he had 8 offensive snaps. think his role will increase? – ChippedHam
A: If they lean into the run a bit more, I’d expect to see Nowakowski more. If not, his role will stay pretty much the same.
Let us know what you think in the comments. Be sure to bookmark Behind the Steel Curtain for all the latest news, breakdowns, and more!
- Joey Porter Jr leaves practice early with medical staff
- T.J. Watt already buying into playing fewer snaps
- Former Steelers WR signs with Chargers
- Chiefs named team to watch for Joey Porter Jr trade
- Lions called Steelers about Joey Porter Jr trade
