Why in the world did Aaron Rodgers target MVS 3 times in the end zone where he ran the wrong route in 2 of those plays?
That was beyond frustrating to see. Did Rodgers want his buddy to be the hero or something?
Pat Freiermouth is the one that got you down there. Embarrassing
Story is never gonna change for the Steelers defense.
You can throw as much money at the thing as you want, but great defenses in the NFL are coached by great defensive minds, innovators, creative, elite game planners, adjusters. That doesn't exist on Steelers sideline.
Arthur smith probably grinning and saying “this call is so bad no way they expect” under his breath before the most predictable sequence since Matt Canada
I know a lot of people are NOT going to like this take, but I think the solution to PIT's woes on offense is not to go to Justin Fields at QB1 at the last minute; it's actually to open up the offense for Russell Wilson earlier in games.
Let me explain: ⬇️
You wanna know why the Steelers always struggle early in games? Because Arthur Smith always comes in with the predictable game plan to pound the ball on early downs, and this Steelers offensive line simply isn't good enough to run that kind of offense. The O-Line is so bad that they can't even gain a yard in the run game if the defense knows they're running, like on 3rd & 4th and short. This consistently kills drives for PIT early in games.
This year's Steelers offense is at it's best when Russell Wilson is allowed to get into shotgun, spread things out, and use the short passing game as an extension of the run game. It not only gets the ball out of Russ' hands faster (making it easier on the O-Line), but it gets guys in open space more effectively, & it because it gives Russ options both short & deep, Russ is allowed to bomb it when the defense plays off, but also take a profit when they sag.
And when PIT finally decided to open things up in the 4Q tonight, what do you know, they moved the ball better than they had anytime over the last month, & if it weren't for 4 key drops late in the game (including the potential game-winner to Muth on 4th & 12), we might be talking about Russ' heroics in this game, as opposed to debating whether to put Fields in when he hasn't started since Week 6.
Heading into next week, I think PIT's only prayer of a fast, effective offensive performance vs. (likely) Baltimore on the road is to go heavy shotgun, and let Russ distribute early and often. If they go back to the same ground & pound strategy with this O-Line vs. the best run defense in football, it's gonna be another offensive calamity and Russ will probably get blamed for it (again).
#HereWeGo