BALTIMORE –The Pittsburgh Steelers’ aspirations of winning the AFC North in Week 16 were dashed on Saturday when they lost 34–17 to the Baltimore Ravens. They do have power over their fate, but they will now have to wait until Week 18 to find out who will win the division.
However, more information about this team is emerging than ever before following two consecutive difficult losses. Here are three things to remember about the Steelers from this game:
This secondary requires assistance.
The secondary for the Steelers is injured and bruised. Due to injuries to Joey Porter Jr., Donte Jackson, and DeShon Elliott, the team gave up too many explosive plays and was forced to use basic defensive strategies on the back end of their defense. Nobody was able to track what transpired because of bad tackling and missed coverages.
However, they do require improvement. But how much of this can be fixed? Given the schematic predictability, could the Steelers eventually figure out how to create a superior secondary? Most likely, the answer is no. Elliott, Jackson, and Porter will undoubtedly help, but additional cornerbacks are what this team really needs.
The Steelers’ cornerback position has been a disaster, and Porter’s problems this season have made it even worse. To close the position this offseason, this squad must make several dart throws at it. They must get by for the time being, but it is difficult.
What did this run game find out?
Has something been found out by the Steelers’ run game? They do, however, possess the fabric of something. Compared to their entire season, the Steelers ran more gap runs from the shotgun in this game. In the meanwhile, they used lighter workers for many of their customary heavy runs. They were the most effective in nine games and averaged more than five yards per rush.
In the future, the Steelers must rely even more on that. Given that they are overly aggressive fronts, these gap runs have the potential to completely destroy the unit when facing teams like the Kansas City Chiefs. Although there was enough of Pittsburgh’s typical zone run-blocking tactics in this game, the Steelers need much more than that.
The Steelers run game may have struck a spark, but it may not completely develop until the next season when Troy Fautanu returns and the other young guys have advanced from year one to year two.
The Steelers’ run game may have struck a spark, but it might not completely develop until the next season when Troy Fautanu returns and the other young guys have some growth from year one to year two.
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