The Pittsburgh Steelers were manhandled by the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on Sunday. The offense couldn’t find any consistency, and injuries to the offensive line kept piling up as Aaron Rodgers ran for his life all day.
As always, here is my weekly stock report as we look around the team to see who performed well and who didn’t.
Stock Up:
TJ Watt
If you want to take any kind of positive from this game, TJ Watt’s Week 1 performance was no fluke. The veteran edge defender was unstoppable once again in Week 2.
Watt recorded 1.5 sacks and looks to be displaying that same kind of jump off the ball we had become accustomed to seeing Watt have. Nobody is benefiting more from the rotation of edge rushers in Patrick Graham’s defense than Watt. The former Defensive Player of the Year is playing like he wants to add another one of those awards to his mantle.
Patrick Queen
Queen made a huge play when he intercepted a Drake Maye pass that looked like it was thrown right to Queen. Some great pressure on the play was provided by Jack Sawyer. Through two games, the inside linebacker room has shown flashes of quality play with both Queen and the emerging Payton Wilson.
Stock Down:
DK Metcalf
DK Metcalf is becoming a net negative for the Steelers offense. He turned his nine targets into just four catches for 27 yards. Both Roman Wilson and rookie second-rounder Germie Bernard finished the game with more yards on fewer targets. The drops continued to plague Metcalf in this contest. Head coach Mike McCarthy clearly made it a point of emphasis to manufacture touches for the receiver early in the contest, which never amounted to much of anything. Metcalf continues to get the most targets of anyone in the offense, but it’s b becoming hard to justify that. The Steelers offense is going to have to change things, and one of those changes could very well be a lesser workload for Metcalf.
Pass Protection
We have to start with the offensive line here, which was absolutely manhandled by the Patriots’ front seven all afternoon. Starting tackles Dylan Cook and Troy Fautanu did not have their best showings, as the Patriots sacked Aaron Rodgers four times in the contest. Starting guard Mason McCormick went down with an injury in the second half, which means this offensive line could have even more inexperience stepping in for the near future.
Rodgers had very little help from his receivers and his offensive line in this one, so I find it hard to put too much blame on him. However, the pocket movement was questionable at times from the veteran quarterback. The lack of mobility really showed up in this game, but Rodgers needs more help from those around him.
Run Game
Both Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle averaged under four yards per carry. Once again, it was Warren who was clearly more efficient and productive with the ball in his hands. Dowdle left the game twice with a toe injury. The Steelers have tried to run the ball on early downs so far this season, and it has not worked. It’s hard to imagine the running game seeing any kind of consistency until the passing agme becomes a serious threat, which is a taller task than anyone realizes.
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!
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