Pittsburgh Steelers expose Panthers’ run defense on SNF

Heading into Week 3’s Sunday Night Football matchup in which the Carolina Panthers hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers, it was hard to pick against the home team. After winning a divisional road game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1 without Cam Newton, the Panthers throttled the Detroit Lions to open up the season at home in Week 2. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, hadn’t looked so good through the first two weeks of the NFL season.

After going up 27-3 over the Brian Hoyer-led Cleveland Browns, the Steelers were outscored 24-3 in the second half to squeak out a 30-27 victory. Facing the division rival Baltimore Ravens in Week 2, the Steelers were simply outmatched and lost 26-6.

Carolina looked a lot better heading into Week 3 than the Steelers, and being at home, Carolina had to be the favorites despite the loyal Pittsburgh fans in attendance. The Steelers attacked Carolina’s defensive line–who were without Greg Hardy due to his domestic violence case–and the Panthers had no answer.

With Hardy out, there was a lot of talent lost on the Panthers’ defensive line that ranked 2nd in the NFL last season in stopping the run, and the Steelers took advantage.

Talented second-year back Le’Veon Bell tallied 147 yards on 21 carries, equaling out to 7.0 yards per rush, while newcomer LeGarrette Blount had 118 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, averaging 11.8 yards per rush. If you hadn’t already done the math yourself, that is 265 yards combined between just those two against a defense that gave up only 86.9 rushing yards per game last season.

Even without Hardy in Week 2, Carolina’s defense didn’t let Detroit run rampant like Pittsburgh did, giving up only 62 rush yards between Reggie Bush and Joique Bell.

Although (Le’Veon) Bell and Blount are much bigger and more physical runners, you wouldn’t expect Carolina’s defense to fold like they did Sunday night after stopping two pretty good Detroit backs.

This game showed us one of two things: either Pittsburgh’s Bell-Blount duo is better than we had already imagined, or Carolina is in deep trouble if Hardy doesn’t return soon. Looking at his legal situation right now and all the heat the NFL is taking for how they’ve handled these domestic violence issues, Hardy might be out a while, if he ever does make a return.

It’s a little too early to judge Carolina’s defense, but I don’t think it’s too early to praise Pittsburgh’s backfield. The Steelers haven’t had a solid and consistent back since Jerome Bettis, who hasn’t suited up in black and gold since winning Super Bowl XL to conclude the 2005 season. In Bell’s young career, he has shown tremendous promise, only to be paired with Blount who can not only lower his shoulder and run over a defender, but hurdle them as he did late in Sunday night’s contest.

There is still plenty of football to be played, meaning plenty of time to judge Carolina’s defense and Pittsburgh’s run game. Week 3’s SNF game could have been merely a fluke, and while that may be true for the Panthers’ defensive struggles, I don’t think that’s the case for the Steelers’ ground and pound offense. If Bell and Blount can keep running hard–and hurdling–without making Ben Roethlisberger do too much, this Steelers team may play a little longer than some may have expected this season.

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