With or without Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers pass rush will be enough to beat Bengals
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For the unbeaten Pittsburgh Steelers (8-0), Sunday’s home game against the Cincinnati Bengals (2-5-1) appears more dangerous than it did a few weeks ago.
• The Steelers looked highly vulnerable scratching past a bad Dallas Cowboys team that is now 2-7.
• The Steelers have practiced all week without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and linebacker Vince Williams thanks to concerns about covid-19 exposure and efforts to minimize a potential spread.
• Cincinnati is fresh off a bye, following an upset victory over the Tennessee Titans.
• The Bengals seem to be on the rise with first-round draft choice Joe Burrow at quarterback impressing in his rookie season. The Heisman Trophy winner entered this week’s games third in both completions and attempts and was eighth in passing yards.
But for a quarterback who may turn the fortunes of his franchise around, the Bengals sure don’t take care of him very well. Burrow has been sacked 28 times. The Philadelphia Eagles are the only team to allow more sacks this season. In all, Burrow has been hit 65 times. Only the Eagles, New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers have allowed more.
On the surface, it appears the Bengals may be getting better in that area. Burrow wasn’t sacked at all in that win over the Titans.
“I think the last three weeks our protection has been a lot better,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said Thursday. “There have been a couple of sacks in the two games before (Tennessee) that were on scrambles. Or we ran out of bounds for a zero-yard gain. There has been an uptick in protection.
“The offensive line, regardless of who is playing, has really stepped up the last couple of weeks.”
Cincinnati managed to keep its perpetually juggled offensive line intact from Week 4 until Week 7. Then starting tackles Bobby Hart and Jonah Williams both missed the Week 8 contest versus the Titans. Hakeem Adeniji and former Steeler Fred Johnson started. But now Johnson’s availability is in doubt because of being on the covid-19 list.
Williams could be back for the Steelers game. Hart’s status is more in question.
Burrow is helping his own cause by being extremely proficient with quick throws in the short-to-intermediate passing game. And Steelers defensive end Cameron Heyward pointed out how well the LSU product runs.
“His mobility is unbelievable. Especially in the upper parts of the red zone. And they do a great job of designing runs that really get him going,” Heyward said, citing Burrow’s touchdown run against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1 as an example.
But, keep in mind, Tennessee has one of the least effective pass rushes in the NFL. Heading into Thursday night’s game against the Indianapolis Colts, they managed a meager nine sacks in eight games. Only two teams — the Las Vegas Raiders (9) and Jacksonville Jaguars (8) — entered this week’s games with fewer.
Meanwhile, the Steelers lead the NFL with 32 sacks. That’s a dynamic that should prove to be a game-changer, no matter how well Burrow plays.
On Wednesday, Cincinnati media members asked Burrow about the seven sacks he took during a 27-3 loss versus Baltimore back on Oct. 11.
“They are very different schematically,” Burrow said of the Steelers and Ravens. “But they both bring a lot of pressure. That’s the one similarity. I’m sure they are going to watch that (Baltimore) game and think that they are going to eat me up. Expect me to make some mistakes when I get pressured. That’s something I can’t do.”
The biggest difference is that the Ravens got five sacks out of their blitzing defensive backs that day. Especially if Mike Hilton (three sacks) is limited Sunday or can’t dress, the Steelers won’t be doing much of that. Of their 32 sacks, a total of 21 have come from outside linebackers Bud Dupree and T.J. Watt, along with defensive ends Stephon Tuitt and Heyward.
Bengals play-by-play man Dan Hoard joins me for Friday’s “Breakfast With Benz” podcast. He can see the Steelers changing up their rush in hopes of confusing Burrow and his lineman the way the Ravens did.
“The Steelers blitz 42% of the time,” Hoard said. “I don’t think they are going to get away from that against a rookie quarterback who had problems with it the last time he faced it. That’s the one time Joe Burrow looked befuddled so far this season. It’ll be interesting to see how much he has learned this week.”
If the Steelers don’t want to blitz a lot, the more appropriate comp may end up being when the Bengals faced the Eagles in Week 3. Philadelphia got eight sacks. Six were registered from players in their front seven.
“Our guys know what they have got to do in the secondary,” defensive coordinator Keith Butler said Thursday. “(Burrow) throws the ball well. He usually gets it to the open guy. He usually throws it to the right guy. We’ve got to make sure we cloud up the reads for him.”
The pass-rush mismatch along the front when Cincinnati has the ball strikes me as such a determining factor in the game, I think it outweighs the potential of Roethlisberger sitting out.
If Roethlisberger dresses and plays the whole game, I’ve got the Steelers winning 28-20. If he sits out, the Steelers win 18-17.
And set the over/under for sacks of Burrow at 4.5. Then take the over.