Five Steelers to watch in Week 4 matchup with Titans
Before every game of the 2020 NFL regular season, Steel City Underground will do a full-roster analysis to find five Pittsburgh Steelers players to keep a special eye on when watching on game day. This week we focus on the Steelers’ fourth week of play against the Tennessee Titans.
With the news that up to nine members of the Tennessee Titans – personnel and players – have tested positive for COVID-19, it’s not as easy to predict which Pittsburgh Steelers players have individual head-to-head matchups that are key in Week 4’s game. There are certain Steelers that we anticipate big things from this week, regardless of what day the National Football League decides to select for the game (at the time of this article’s writing, the NFL was planning Monday or Tuesday).
Editorial Update: The NFL has rescheduled this game (10/2020) and essentially given the Steelers an early ‘bye’ until more information can be gathered and action taken.
“Mapletron” Magic
Just three weeks into his professional football career, Abbotsford, B.C.-native, and rookie receiver, Chase Claypool has lived up to the hype that began during his days at Notre Dame. Claypool had a beautiful acrobatic sideline catch in Week 1. He followed that up with an 84-yard catch for a touchdown, setting the record for the longest NFL touchdown from scrimmage ever scored by a Canadian. He has just six receptions in nine targeted throws but has turned them into 151 yards (25.2 yds. per catch), a touchdown, and four first downs.
“It’s definitely very cool. There are moments during the day when I just look around and I enjoy it.” – Chase Claypool on being in the NFL
The Titans defense ranks among the NFL’s bottom 12 squads and has allowed 546 receiving yards to opposing receivers despite the team’s 3-0 record, giving Ben Roethlisberger plenty of opportunities to go for more shots down the field.
High-charged Watt
Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt got robbed of the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award last year, at least in the opinion of many football fans. Watt certainly has looked like he’s playing angry this season. In Week 3, Watt was held by the Texans offensive line several times yet no penalty flags were thrown. Instead, Watt channeled that frustration into four tackles and a sack. Watt looks to add to his stats line against Ryan Tannehill as he works against Taylor Lewan. Watt is on a projected pace to record 18-19 sacks this season, per ESPN stats.
Ground and Pound
After suffering an early injury that had fans asking, once again, if James Conner was too fragile, the young running back put together back-to-back weeks of 100-plus yards of rushing. A lot of those yards were earned after the initial point of impact with a defender. Conner also has a touchdown in each of the last two games. It’s not clear whether it will be Benny Snell or Anthony McFarland that will spell him, or if the Steelers will work Jaylen Samuels into the mix as well but there’s no doubt that a healthy Conner is going to be asked to provide the heaviest workload in the run offense against the Titans.
Vince Williams has played with renewed spirit with young teammate Devin Bush in the middle of the Steelers’ defense this year. When Williams and the Steelers lost Ryan Shazier to a career-ending injury, the veteran inside linebacker slumped a bit. Maybe it was more emotional than physical but it was clear that the Steelers were asking others to take more snaps. In 2020, however, Williams has been a great complement to Bush. The duo will be asked to help limit Tennessee’s top rushing threat in Derek Henry in Week 4.
Williams enters the game with 14 total tackles, two sacks, six stuffs. Bush has 18 total tackles, 0.5 sacks, and three passes defensed. The duo has been asked to play sideline-to-sideline and also drop into coverage this season. Paired up, the two are a one-two punch that the Steelers will rely on to help the defensive line pound and contain Henry and cover mid-field, whether it’s defending crossing receivers or tight ends.
