5 Steelers surprises coming out of the bye week
Each week our SCU staff and contributors picks the “surprises” from the Pittsburgh Steelers latest matchup. Check out more below to see which plays and situations surprised us the most!
While the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t play during Week 6 and were on a bye, there were plenty of other surprises that could impact the team, namely within their division.
Here are the top headlines from this weekend’s games.
Matt Canada
A lot of fans were sitting on the edge of their seat following last week’s game, hoping to hear some news of the Steelers parting ways with their offensive coordinator.
If the organization planned to fire Matt Canada they would’ve done so by now. Logically, that announcement would’ve been made last Monday or Tuesday ahead of the bye week, to give the team two weeks to prepare with a new coach.
To the dismay of many fans, it’s safe to say that Canada’s job is safe: at least for now, if not for the entire season.
Browns Beat Niners
Who would’ve thought that the Cleveland Browns, who had to start a practice squad quarterback on Sunday, would’ve given the 5-0 San Francisco 49ers their first loss of the season?
Clearly no one, but that’s what happened as the Niners blew several opportunities to close the game, including an errant P.J. Walker throw on the Browns’ final drive – as well as a missed field goal as time expired.
Officiating
The Browns and 49ers game featured the worst officiating job of any game I’ve watched this season.
John Hussey’s crew called the most penalties and penalty yards in a game this season. San Francisco was flagged 12 times for 105 yards while Cleveland was tagged 13 times for 119.
The trigger-happy crew’s calls included a blown unnecessary roughness call for a clean hit late in the game that aided the Browns’ to their game-winning field goal.
Unfortunately, the Steelers have yet to see Hussey’s crew on a game this season, so be prepared for when we do!
All Above .500
Heading into Week 7 the Steelers sit in second place in the AFC North with a 3-2 record, 2-0 in their division.
The 4-2 Baltimore Ravens, with a victory over the Tennessee Titans in London, jumped up to first place during the Steelers bye. The Browns improved to 3-2 while the Cincinnati Bengals held off the visiting Seattle Seahawks to get to 3-3.
That means all four teams in the AFC North have records of at least .500 or better – it is the only division in the league where no team has a losing record.
Moore over Jones?
Finally, the Steelers returned to practice this week with several players hoping to return from injuries. Among those are WR Diontae Johnson, RB Anthony McFarland Jr., and TE Pat Freiermuth.
One more player who was a starter, LT Dan Moore Jr., was sidelined for the Ravens game but reportedly took practice reps with the first team: bumping this year’s first-round pick Broderick Jones.
Hopefully, the Steelers staff recognizes that Jones was added to the team to solidify the offensive line and help protect QB Kenny Pickett, something Moore has failed to do through his first three seasons. Otherwise, it’s back to the same old story at left tackle when things appeared to get better with Jones in against Baltimore.
