Tim Benz: Steelers defensive turnaround keys ‘Airing of Grievances/Feats of Strength’ after comeback over Houston
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I think we’ve all gotten used to this “Tale of Two Halves” story with the Steelers offense over the first two weeks of the 2020 season.
And it worked to the tune of victories over the New York Giants and Denver Broncos. In Week 1, the offense was sputtering for the first 28 minutes, then was really good for the second half at MetLife Stadium.
In Week 2, the offense started hot but then made some mistakes to allow the Broncos to hang around at Heinz Field before putting them away 26-21.
But Sunday, it was the defense that was in question for 30 minutes against the Houston Texans, only to find its form after halftime en route to a 28-21 victory.
That leads to handwringing for the fanbase on a weekly basis. But it’s good for yours truly! As that makes it plenty easy to fill up both our “Airing of Grievances” and our “Feats of Strength” after a win that improved the Steelers to 3-0 for the first time since 2010.
FEATS OF STRENGTH
Quick change: Whatever the defense did at halftime to get itself together, it worked. Because to start the game, Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson was shredding coordinator Keith Butler’s troops.
Watson was 14 for 18 for 202 yards in the first half. He had two touchdown throws and led a third scoring drive, and the Texans went into halftime with a 21-17 lead.
It was a different story in the second half. The Steelers blanked Houston over the last 30 minutes. Watson was sacked three times and was intercepted by Mike Hilton.
“I thought the guys did a nice job — players and coaches — of communicating and making necessary adjustments at the half,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “Finding our rhythm in the second half. Getting necessary stops and possessing the ball.”
Tomlin referred to Hilton’s interception as “enormous.” He also said the team mixed up coverages and rushed differently in the second half.
“(Watson) was finding escape lanes, not in an effort to run, but in an effort to buy time and break down our zone coverages and find open spaces,” Tomlin said. “We made minor technical adjustments to both the rush and the coverages. And I think that was the difference.”
Back on track: The Steelers rush defense was overwhelming in Week 1, holding New York Giants star running back Saquon Barkley to just 6 yards on 15 carries. The Giants’ entire team had only 29 yards.
But the Denver Broncos were more effective in Week 2, totaling 109 yards as a team with 70 from Melvin Gordon.
Butler’s group was much better on the ground Sunday, holding the Texans to 29 yards on 15 carries.
Houston’s second-half possessions consisted of just three punts and that turnover. A pair of Steelers scoring drives that lasted 12 plays apiece certainly helped get the defense rested and kept them off the field.
The 11-play drive at the end of the game to kill the clock at the Texans’ 6-yard line didn’t hurt either.
Tight end tango: Steelers tight ends Vance McDonald and Eric Ebron combined for just six catches and 67 yards over the first three games. On Sunday, they were much more impactful.
They combined for eight receptions and 71 yards. Plus, Ebron caught a touchdown.
Eric Ebron secures his first TD in the black and gold ⛓
(via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/ZHXRwuCnjy
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 27, 2020
That cut a 14-3 Houston lead to 14-10. It was his first score as a Steeler.
“I’ll probably get another seven days before you guys ask me about Ebron, I imagine,” Tomlin said with a smile. “We like the versatility of the group. The specialization of the group. And it allows us to move the ball fluidly.”
Conner Strong: The Steelers dotted Anthony McFarland Jr. and Benny Snell in the game at the running back position.
But James Conner got the lion’s share of the work. He carried the ball 18 times for 109 yards and a touchdown.
.@JamesConner_ POWERING his way in to put us up!
Two-point conversion is good!
CBS https://t.co/tI5aUTu7te pic.twitter.com/v9fjXcurAn
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 27, 2020
“We threw some different looks,” said quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. “Some big package stuff. Some counter runs. Some downhill runs. We were also able to supplement when they were crowding the box with some quick-hit throws.”
Conner also had 40 receiving yards via four catches.
High “WATT”age: The much-ballyhooed battle of the Watt brothers never really materialized.
Well, at least two-thirds of it.
Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt was the best of the bunch. He appeared to get dinged late in the first half with some sort of upper-body injury, yet he still totaled four tackles, along with a sack. Plus, he stuffed Brandin Cooks behind the line of scrimmage.
The youngest Watt also drilled Watson on his interception that was picked off by Hilton.
Steelers fullback Derek Watt left the game early with a hamstring injury.
Houston’s J.J. Watt had four tackles, just one solo, but nothing behind the line of scrimmage and no sacks or batted passes.
AIRING OF GRIEVANCES
Third-down damage: To begin the game, the Steelers were awful on third downs allowing 4 of 6 to the Texans. Meanwhile, the Steelers were 1 of 4 to start.
It wasn’t just the frequency of the conversions. It was the damage done during them.
• Watson threw a pass to Cooks for 20 yards on a third down.
• Randall Cobb’s 28-yard touchdown reception came on a third-and-8.
• Watson found Kenny Stills for 20 yards on a third-and-6 that got Houston into the red zone.
• On third-and-9 from the Steelers’ 11-yard line, Will Fuller caught a pass to move the chains and keep a red-zone possession alive. Running back David Johnson scored on the next play.
But the Texans only converted one of their last six third-down chances in the game.
Challenge the challenge: Stop me if you heard this one before, but Mike Tomlin lost another challenge.
It was on a third-down scramble by Ben Roethlisberger in the second half. He stretched the ball right near the first-down marker near the Houston sideline. But he was ruled down just before stretching it to the sticks.
In one sense, I don’t blame Tomlin for this one. I thought it was a bad spot, even after the review.
However, with Tomlin’s track record and how loath the officials are to overturn calls — especially the arbitrary spotting of the football — it might have been wise for Tomlin to hold the red flag in his pocket.
Seeing red: In the final stat book, the Steelers were 2 of 5 in the offensive red zone. Granted, one of those possessions was a kneel-down sequence at the end of the game.
However, twice the Steelers had to settle for Chris Boswell field goals with some very choppy play-calling and execution.
For instance, I’m not sure why they elected to have Jaylen Samuels, their fourth-most-likely ball carrier, to be the running back in a third-and-2 from the Houston 15-yard line in the first quarter.
He gained only a yard.
And coordinator Randy Fichtner’s unit had a first down from the Texans’ 10-yard line in the third quarter and moved backward before relying on Boswell’s leg.