The Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense may have left some plays on the field in Week 1 in their 20-13 win over the Atlanta Falcons, but the big plays were there to be had, which provided optimism for Week 2. All of that optimism was swiftly thrown out the window against the New England Patriots in a 20-3 loss.
The Steelers averaged just 3.5 yards per play against the Patriots and were never able to get anything going in any facet. They went 2-of-12 on third down, making them 5-of-25 for the season through
two weeks. Aaron Rodgers didn’t reach 200 yards, going 23-of-39 for 187 yards – good for a mere 4.5 yards per attempt.
The offensive struggles can all be traced back to the putrid offensive line play put on display. Dylan Cook was abysmal for the second consecutive week, as was Spencer Anderson. Troy Fautanu allowed a pair of sacks, including one that sent the Steelers from 3rd-and-7 to 4th-and-43 after a strip sack. Overall, Rodgers was sacked four times and pressured constantly throughout the afternoon. Overall, Pittsburgh notched just one play of 20+ yards.
The run game was better than it was a week ago, but still wasn’t anything to write home about with just 91 yards on 23 carries. Mike McCarthy needs to take a hard look at Cook and Spencer Anderson, and there should be strong consideration to start Max Iheanachor and Gennings Dunker in Week 3.
An even larger story is the lackluster play of DK Metcalf, who was once again shutdown by a high quality cornerback. The former Seahawk was targeted nine times, making four catches for 27 yards and had two more drops, including one on 3rd-and-3 that would have gone for a first down. Metcalf now has eight receptions for 67 yards on 19 targets. Considering he is making north of $30 million per year, he is currently one of the worst contracts in football.
Defensively, the Steelers did all they could until the dam just burst. Payton Wilson recovered a Rhamondre Stevenson fumble to end the Patriots’ first drive, and the unit held New England to 10 first half points. Unfortunately for the defense, any time they gave the offense a big play, it was all for not. The Steelers went three-and-out after the Wilson fumble recovery. Patrick Queen picked off Drake Maye on the first drive of the second half, and the Steelers turned around and punted seven plays later. The Patriots then missed a field goal, and the Steelers went three-and-out. The Steelers also sacked Maye three times, with T.J. Watt upping his season total to 3.5. While there were a few chunk plays given up, the loss certainly doesn’t fall on the shoulders of the defense.
Pittsburgh will now get set to face the Cincinnati Bengals, who are about to get to 2-0 with a likely win over the Houston Texans and looking to take an early command of the AFC North by getting to 3-0. Should the Steelers lose, they will find themselves treading water before September ends.
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- Joey Porter Jr leaves practice early with medical staff
