Steelers roll Panthers, 52-21, in primetime showdown
Welcome to “Quick Yinzing”, a fast reaction article where a member of the SCU staff gives their initial post-game impressions without digging into any films, stats, or other analysis. It’s as real as that car ride home or sobering down at the bar following the game!
On Thursday Night, during primetime, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina Panthers entered what was predicted to be a physical battle; a game that the Steelers would play with little rest after their win in Week Nine of the 2018 NFL regular season. Although the Panthers got off to a quick start, the Steelers came in blazing and ran away with the game in ‘color rush’-fashion. With the 52-21 win, Pittsburgh moves to 6-2-1 on the season and heads into Week 11 on a five-game win streak.
Ben Roethlisberger had an outstanding night, orchestrating an offensive blowout of the Panthers. The offensive line gave him so much protection that “Big Ben” was able to complete 23 of 25 passes and five touchdowns before the Steelers coaching staff pulled him in the fourth quarter in favor of Joshua Dobbs. Roethlisberger’s first play from scrimmage was a long pass to a wide-open JuJu Smith-Schuster for the first touchdown. He would find Antonio Brown, Jesse James, and Vance McDonald for touchdown passes on the night.
James Conner had another strong outing. Putting his chin down to keep churning for yards, Conner was able to score on a two-yard run. Conner would later spend time in the game with Jaylen Samuels – who also scored a leaping catch-and-run touchdown.
The Steelers defense looked the best it has all season, putting on a clinic in how to shut down Cam Newton. Using a healthy dose of pass-pressure, the Steelers were able to eliminate Newton’s ability to scramble around in the pocket, forcing him to get the ball out quicker. Newton’s only real relief, however, turned out to be Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey would score two touchdowns before the Steelers brought their depth players into the game in the fourth quarter, then score one more in what many considered garbage time. Cameron Heyward walked into the locker room with two sacks. The defense, as a unit, was able to play solid ball.
Vince Williams helped the Steelers go up 13-0 in the first quarter after Newton was hit by T.J. Watt and the ball fluttered into the air. Williams grabbed the ball and rumbled into the end zone for a pick-six. Williams and Watt both earned sacks on the night as well.
On special teams, kicker Chris Boswell was perfect on PATs and field goals. Roosevelt Nix knocked a ball out of the Panthers returner’s arms in the second half of the game and Anthony Chickillo scooped it up for the positive turnover, setting up the Roethlisberger-to-Samuels touchdown.
This was a Steelers team that shared the responsibilities across the entire roster and were able to get themselves comfortably in the lead and hold onto it. In fact, they scored more points at Heinz Field in front of a national and home crowd than they’ve ever done in the history of the stadium. It was a Pittsburgh team that looked gritty, hard-core and ready to be a real contender for a Super Bowl Championship.
