Coming off a loss in their home opener to the Las Vegas Raiders, what will the Pittsburgh Steelers do as they try to get back in the win column?
The Steelers woes against the Raiders continued in Week 2. Derek Carr dropped 382 passing yards on the Steelers defense, which was too much to overcome in their 26-17 loss to Las Vegas.
Pittsburgh will remain at Heinz Field for Week 3 as they take on their division-rival Cincinnati Bengals. Will Pittsburgh get on track, or will they drop their second consecutive game? Here are five bold predictions for the Steelers against the Bengals.
The Steelers will finally run the ball
The Steelers run game is still abysmal, but the blame does not fall on Najee Harris. Pittsburgh doesn’t attempt to run the ball. Harris had only 10 carries against the Raiders for 38 yards.
While Pittsburgh did get him involved in the pass game, which included his first career touchdown this past weekend, the Steelers need to establish a ground attack. Ten carries spread across four quarters is nowhere near enough to get a running back into a rhythm.
Although the offensive line is inconsistent, but they drafted tight end Pat Freiermuth and center Kendrick Green for a reason. Both have been really good at run blocking thus far.
Matt Canada has to understand that yes, there will be plays that get blown up and don’t look good- keep pounding the ball through it. That’s been the Steelers biggest problem over the last few seasons. They’ll run the ball once, gain two yards, and then completely abandon it all together.
This offense is far too one dimensional, much like it was last year. You selected Harris in the first round for a reason; use him.
Ben Roethlisberger will get his 400th touchdown
The future Hall of Fame signal-caller currently sits at 398 touchdown passes for his career. Roethlisberger has had a touchdown in each of the Steelers two games thus far, and he has been good against the Bengals throughout his career.
In 32 games against Cincinnati, Big Ben has 45 touchdown passes, while also completing 63 percent of his passes and averaging 245 yards per game.
This feels like the game where Ben should become the eighth player in history to eclipse 400 touchdowns. The Bengals pass rush isn’t as good as what the Steelers faced in Buffalo or against the Raiders, so Roethlisberger should have more time to work with in the pocket.
The box score against Las Vegas will say that Ben played great — he didn’t. Aside from two deep connections to Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool, Roethlisberger looked rushed, he made errant throws, and one of them was picked off. Week 3 needs to be where this offense finally takes off and gets into some sort of flow.
Roethlisberger reaching the milestone at home in front of a packed Heinz Field would make it even sweeter. This could be one of his final great moments on this unofficial farewell tour.
James Washington will have a big day
Diontae Johnson’s status is still up in the air for Week 3. The third-year receiver was carted off the field after the last play of the game in Week 2 with an apparent knee injury. Even if Johnson does play, he will likely be on a snap count. James Washington needs to step up with the increased reps he’ll have.
In Washington’s defense, it’s not his fault that he hasn’t had a ton of snaps- the Steelers don’t use him enough. He has the best set of hands on the team, he is their best deep threat, and is always counted on to make the contested catch when the Steelers need it most (i.e. vs Baltimore last season).
While there are rumors floating around that Washington requested a trade, this is his time to show Pittsburgh his true value to the offense. He’s no stranger to doing it against the Bengals, either. He had a 79-yard touchdown in Cincinnati in 2019 that helped the Steelers get the road victory.
Whether it is turning a reception underneath into extra yardage, or getting a big chunk play downfield, Washington can provide a ton of production to the Steelers pass game — it’s about time they finally start utilizing him.
The Steelers will grab an interception
The Steelers still have no interceptions through two games. After the performance they put up against the Raiders, expect them to play angry and with a point to prove against the Bengals.
Even without Joe Haden, giving up nearly 400 yards through the air is inexcusable. Whether it was Hunter Renfrow or Henry Ruggs III, the Steelers couldn’t slow down the Raiders air attack.
The problem with the Steelers strategy was that they keyed in on Darren Waller, and didn’t adjust when Renfrow and Ruggs were picking them apart. The deep touchdown pass to Ruggs occured because Minkah Fitzpatrick came down to cover Waller because he expected the pass to go to the tight end.
This left no help deep, and by the time Fitzpatrick realized it, it was too late. He couldn’t get back in time and it led to Ruggs celebrating in the end zone with less than 10 minutes left.
It’s likely that Joe Haden will be back in Week 3, as will Devin Bush. This will help both the secondary and the linebackers in shallow coverage. Guys like Fitzpatrick and Haden need to have big days Sunday.
Joe Burrow is coming off a three-interception performance against the Bears, and the Steelers are playing angry. That will lead to takeaways and more offensive opportunities.
Pat Freiermuth scores his first touchdown
We touched on Freiermuth’s play earlier, but it can’t be understated how well he’s playing. He had four catches for 36 yards against the Raiders, and his presence as a run blocker has been noticeable through the first two weeks of the season.
Freiermuth is clearly the best tight end on the Steelers roster. Eric Ebron was a big pickup for them last season, but he developed a case of not being able to catch anything down the stretch in 2020.
He has just one catch on four targets through two games, and while one of his targets against the Raiders wasn’t credited as a drop, it was a ball he should have caught on third down.
Freiermuth gave us a glimpse of his potential in the preseason against Detroit, where he caught two touchdowns from Roethlisberger. Once the Steelers get into the red zone, it should become the Pat Freiermuth show. He’s 6-foot-5, 260 pounds and has the hops of a volleyball player. There is no excuse for not feeding him the ball. The comparisons to Heath Miller are already being made- let him be that safety blanket and a red-zone monster.