Steelers news: Can Dexter Lawrence disrupt Pittsburgh's offensive synergy?

The mood around the Pittsburgh Steelers is more relaxed than it has been at any other point in this season. The specter of Russell Wilson has been lifted, and the internal doubts have been squashed. Instead, the Steelers have moved on to preparing for a Monday night clash against an outmatched New York Giants squad bringing a bayonet to a firefight. During the Daniel Jones era, New York has been one of the worst offensive teams. With the bye week coming on the other side of Monday night football, the Giants appear to be a doormat, but there is still something to be gleaned from a midseason matchup with a professional football team who shouldn’t be taken too lightly. 

Steelers vs. Dexter Lawrence 

The New York Giants revolve around a single massive body. Dexter Lawrence is the unstoppable object hurtling toward Pittsburgh. Last week, against the Eagles, Lawrence compiled two more sacks, giving him nine, more than double the next-best interior defender. Steelers’ running backs have been hit at the line of scrimmage at one of the highest rates in the league. 

Mike Tomlin acknowledged the conundrum that Lawrence poses and added some context around the size of New York’s 340-pound nose tackle.

“He’s [Dexter Lawrence] a problem in the running game. He’s a problem in the passing game. I think he leads the NFL in sacks but he’s just a dominant, dominant player.” Tomlin said, h/t Athlon Sports.

“I remember when I took those guys out for dinner when he came out of Clemson a number of years back, and I was sitting having a conversation with him and (Las Vegas Raiders defensive tackle) Christian Wilkins, and they were sitting on a loveseat,” Tomlin added. “And that loveseat was crowded and Christian Wilkins looked really small. And we all know Christian is not small. 

“You’re not gonna get a lot done unless you’re prepared to put four hands-on (Lawrence). Guys like Ryan McCollum, who are getting an opportunity to ascend and play, it’s gonna be a significant challenge, but we better do more than wish Ryan McCollum luck.”

In the absence of standout rookie Zach Frazier, who will likely miss his second straight contest, McCollum will be lined up opposite Lawrence most often, but he won’t do it alone. Neutralizing Lawrence is impossible. Slowing down a kaiju is a team effort. Lawrence, the NFL sack leader, has been double-teamed on a higher rate of his pass rushes than any player since 2018, according to Next Gen Stats. Lawrence has been double-teamed on 63.3 percent of his snaps, which is significantly more often than Green Bay’s Karl Brooks, who is double-teamed 55.1 percent of the time.

Although right tackle is still a work in progress, the offensive line was stout against Quinnen Williams in Week 7. They’ll need to bring the same energy to their battle with the NFL’s reigning juggernaut in the trenches.

Russell Wilson’s play-action usage

Thursday night was a small sample size, but against a front line led by Quinnen WIlliams, a linebacking corps that included a First-team All-Pro and one of the upper-echelon cornerbacks, Wilson was outstanding in play-action. 

Russell Wilson in his debut had 13 play-action plays, where he threw 12 passes, completing nine of them for 157 yards. That’s a rate of 13.1 yards per attempt, which Pro Football Focus says leads all NFL passers with at least 10 passes out of play action. During those contests, Justin Fields completed 64.4 percent of play-action passes, but only for 233 yards and a rate of 5.2 yards per attempt, which ranks 32nd among NFL quarterbacks.

Coupled with Najee Harris’ penchant for forcing missed tackles, defenses have had to take the threat of the run more seriously in Pittsburgh the last two weeks. According to Pro Football Focus, Harris’ 19 missed tackles forced in the last three games ranks second in the NFL behind former Steelers running back, James Conner.

What makes Russell Wilson’s deep ball special?

ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky also delivered a concise breakdown of what exactly makes Russell Wilson’s passes more catchable. 

On average, Wilson kept the ball in the air for at least an extra second longer than Fields’ throws. Wilson’s penchant for lofting pigskin over defenders on countless throws by putting enough arc underneath his passes allowed him to complete passes over defensive backs instead of attempting to needle it through them. In his prime, Wilson’s deep balls were analogous to those of a savvy off-the-dribble Steph Curry with two defenders in his face. He could scramble, evade, buy time, and spin a teardrop 40 yards at an angle that only his receiver would have a shot at the catch. Giving his receivers more time to adjust gives them an excellent opportunity to make difficult catches. 

The advice Peyton Manning gave him as a counselor at the Manning Passing Academy while he was still a young quarterback and recounted by the New York Times this week, is exactly what a shooting coach would advise a perimeter scorer to focus on if you replaced receiver with the cylinder. 

Via The Athletic's Mike DeFabo: 

"The young quarterback asked Manning his secret for throwing the deep ball. The answer ?Don’t look at the receiver. Look at where you want the ball to go. Wilson began working on putting as much arc as possible on the ball to give his receivers time to run under it."

For a little perspective on how effective Wilson has been over the years, DeFabo explained the depth of Wilson’s deep passing prowess.

"Since Wilson entered the league, no quarterback has been more effective on passes of 40-plus air yards. Over the last 12-plus seasons, Wilson ranks first in pass attempts (172), completions (62), touchdown passes (23) and yards (3,143) on throws that travel 40 yards or more downfield, per TruMedia. Even his per-game numbers are near the top of the league. Among quarterbacks with at least one full season, Wilson ranks first in attempts (1.23), completions (0.44) and yards per game on such throws (22.45). He’s third in touchdowns per game (0.16) on passes of 40-plus air yards, behind C.J. Stroud and Kirk Cousins."

Putting that much air underneath passes a bit more anticipation and accuracy, but it also allows WIlson to release the ball sooner than a signal caller who delivers quicker fastballs with more line drive zip behind an unreliable offensive line. Fortunately for Pittsburgh, WIlson operated behind plenty of patchwork O-Lines throughout his career.

Pittsburgh stretching out its aerial attack allows George Pickens to do what he does best and opens up rushing lanes for Harris. Fewer defenders in the box give him more space to operate.  The Steelers offensive scheme operates on a symbiotic relationship between Pickens, Wilson, and Harris. Week 8 against the Giants gives them an opportunity to perfect complementing each other.

Roman Wilson’s fate is still unknown

One receiver, Russell Wilson likely won’t be throwing to is rookie Roman Wilson. The rookie out of Michigan was expected to play a significant role once he recovered from a series of injuries, but he’s been a healthy DNP for multiple weeks, only received a handful of snaps against the Raiders, and Mike Tomlin’s statement about Wilson on Tuesday made it seem as if there are no plans to integrate him into the rotation at receiver anytime soon. 

"He missed some practice time because of the hammy and as we’ve talked repeatedly in this setting, Roman needs to work for me to really consider him. His participation got compromised some last week and so really once it got compromised, I moved on."

Tomlin’s sentiments about the rook may change after the bye week, but for now, his public stance on Wilson gives the impression that you shouldn’t expect to hear from him during his rookie season.