Steelers hope to take care of business against struggling Packers
MEMORABLE SERIES MOMENT
Steelers 37, Packers 36
Dec. 20, 2009, at Heinz Field
A thrilling game that was decided at 0:00 with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Mike Wallace. It gave the Steelers a win and Roethlisberger the first 500-yard passing game (503) in team history. The bigger story was the abhorrent play of a Steelers defense that led the team to a Lombardi Trophy the previous season. The defense was so bad on this day, Mike Tomlin ordered an onside kick after taking a 30-28 lead with 3:58 left. The Packers got the ball at the Pittsburgh 39, but Aaron Rodgers scored too quickly. A Packers touchdown with 2:06 left gave Roethlisberger just enough time to drive for the win. It was the only game the Packers lost in the second half of the season, as the 26-year-old Rodgers was correcting a 10-14 record in his first 1.5 seasons as starter. For the Steelers, it was the first time they won in six attempts without both Troy Polamalu and Aaron Smith in the lineup.
TALE OF THE TAPE
“They don’t scare you on either side of the ball. Let’s focus on offense. Obviously, without Aaron Rodgers they’re not the same team. Brett Hundley is big, strong and has a decent arm; not a great arm, a decent arm. But he’s young and you see it in him. At times he’s overwhelmed by different coverages and looks. When they run the ball effectively, and he can run the play-action pass, that’s where he’s at his best.” — Steelers Radio analyst Tunch Ilkin.
TOP QUESTION
Can the Packers loosen up the Steelers’ pass defense by running the ball?
Tyler Montgomery is doubtful and rookie Aaron Jones is out, so that leaves the third-teamer, rookie Jamaal Williams, to run the ball for the Packers. The 6-0 1/2, 212-pounder has 4.54 speed, but is tight-hipped and runs tall. He finished as BYU’s all-time leading rusher, was drafted in the fourth round and carried 20 times for 67 yards (3.4 avg.) in the second half at Chicago. Last week as the starter he carried 18 times for 57 yards (3.2) against Baltimore. Stopping Williams will make things difficult for Hundley, who has an awful third-down passer rating of 44.5.
THREE QUESTIONS: With OLB T.J. WATT
Q: You grew up in Wisconsin but weren’t much of a Packers fan, were you?
TJW: “When I was a kid I watched the games and stuff, and I’m sure there’s probably a Halloween picture out there somewhere, but we were just so busy on the weekends with hockey and all our other sports that we really didn’t have time to sit down and watch football like other families.”
Q: You blocked a field goal last game. How many have you blocked at all levels of your career?
TJW: “One, and that was my one. That was the only one my whole life. I don’t think I was ever on a kick-block team in college.”
Q: Your bookend pass-rusher in college, Vince Biegel, is with the Packers. Will he play?
TJW: “I think he’s playing. I’m excited for him. I know he wasn’t happy with the injury early on but he’s obviously happy to be back playing and I look forward to seeing what he brings to the table for them this weekend. We were good teammates. He kind of took me under his wing when I first switched to defense, him and Joe Schobert. He’s a good football player. He’s always around the football. He’s a high-motor, high-effort guy like myself. Very similar type players. I think that’s why we were such a great tandem together.”
GAME BREAKDOWN
What to look for from the Steelers tonight at Heinz Field:
ON OFFENSE:
The Steelers will be without WR JuJu Smith-Schuster because of a hamstring injury. The rookie plays primarily in the slot and has caught 18 passes for 376 yards (20.9 avg.) and 3 touchdowns in the last four games. He’ll be replaced physically by Eli Rogers and no doubt schematically by Martavis Bryant, who’s scored only one touchdown in nine games after catching 14 in 21 games prior to his one-year suspension in 2016. It might be time for Bryant to breakout.
ON DEFENSE:
The Steelers are missing CB Joe Haden and have listed FS Mike Mitchell as questionable, but are facing a backup quarterback in Hundley who’s thrown 7 interceptions and only 3 touchdowns in compiling a 63.3 passer rating since replacing Rodgers early in Game 6. Hundley averages 8.0 yards per rush and has been sacked two fewer times (17) than Rodgers (19), so he has enough mobility to concern a Steelers defense that’s second in the NFL in sacks (34). The Packers are hurting at tight end due to the release of Martellus Bennet. Lance Kendricks is the starter.
PREDICTION
The Steelers have won four of the last five meetings against the Packers, with the lone loss coming in Super Bowl XLV. With Hundley at quarterback, this most certainly isn’t a Super Bowl. The Steelers, on the other hand, are in one of their more comfortable spots: second of back-to-back home games. Under Tomlin the Steelers are 18-3 in this spot with the average margin +9. … Steelers, 23-14.
BY THE NUMBERS
2.33: Yards per rush allowed by the Packers in their last three games, second to the Seattle Seahawks. The Packers will be without NT Kenny Clark today but Mike McCarthy called the other tackle, Mike Daniels “a ferocious player.”
2.64: Yards per rush allowed by the Steelers in their last three games. “Hmmmmm,” DL Stephon Tuitt said upon hearing the stat. “We’ve got to do better than that.” It’s third best in the league.
4: Number of Steelers defenders with at least four sacks this season: Cameron Heyward 7, Vince Williams 6, Bud Dupree 4 and Watt 4.
27: Consecutive regular-season games in which the Steelers have held their opponent without a touchdown on its first offensive possession. The last to do so was Baltimore in Game 15, 2015.
77: Career sacks by Clay Matthews to rank first on the all-time Packers list. He missed practice all week with a groin injury and will be a game-time decision.
DOWNLOADS
n The Packers enter the game ranked second in offensive red-zone production, but most of that was on Rodgers, who finished 15 of 19 red-zone trips with touchdowns. Huntley is only 4-for-10. The Packers averaged 27.4 points per game with Rodgers and 13.4 with Huntley.
n Except for touchdown catches, the Packers’ Big 3 receivers haven’t fallen off too much with the new quarterback. In five games (plus two series) with Rodgers, Davante Adams, Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb caught 66 passes for 743 yards (11.3 avg.) and 11 touchdowns. In close to five full games with Huntley, the Big 3 have 58 catches for 664 yards (11.4 avg.) and 2 touchdowns.
n The Steelers are off to an 8-2 start (or better) for the eighth time in franchise history. The 1973 and 1983 teams lost in the first round of the playoffs, the 2001 and 2004 teams were eliminated in the AFC Championship Game, and the 1975, 1978 and 1979 teams won championships.
n Antonio Brown caught his 700th pass last game to set an NFL record for the fewest games to the milestone. It was Brown’s 111th game. Marvin Harrison held the previous record with 114. Brown has 702 catches for 9,403 yards and 56 touchdowns. The Steelers’ team records in those categories are held by Hines Ward with 1,000 receptions for 12,083 yards and 85 touchdowns.
n The Curse of Bill Dudley? The Steelers haven’t had an NFL rushing leader since 1946, when Dudley won his second rushing title with the Steelers. He was traded after the season following a run-in with coach Jock Sutherland. Dudley won both rushing titles in 11-game seasons. Jerome Bettis suffered a season-ending injury in his 11th game while leading the NFL with 1,072 rushing yards in 2001. Le’Veon Bell enters his 11th game as the NFL leader with 886 rushing yards.
PARTING SHOT
“(The Steelers’ defense) is doing a few things differently as far as playing some more over front than they probably have in prior years, but their philosophy is still the same. They’re going to challenge the offense schematically, and they’re fast reactors. Their approach is aggressive.” — Packers Coach Mike McCarthy.