The 5: Things to watch for from Steelers in NFL Week 13 against the Cardinals
In Week 12 of the 2023 NFL regular season, the Pittsburgh Steelers will host the Arizona Cardinals for the first of a two-game home stand at Acrisure Stadium.
After gaining over 400 yards of offense for the first time in their previous 58 games, Pittsburgh will look to build upon their output against a 2-10 Arizona squad.
In this article, we outline five things to watch for from the Steelers in Sunday’s game.
Pickett’s streak
Pittsburgh Steelers QB Kenny Pickett has gone 7 games without throwing an interception (the longest active streak in the NFL).
On Sunday against the Bengals he also broke Ben Roethlisberger’s consecutive passes attempted without an interception at 208 throws and counting.
Will both mistake-free streaks continue as Pickett continues to play in the Steelers refined offense under Eddie Faulkner and Mike Sullivan?
Big day for run game
The Pittsburgh Steelers have gained 696 rushing yards (174 per-game-average) over their last four games: 166 (Titans), 205 (Packers), 172 (Browns) and 153 (Bengals).
The 696 yards rushing is the most in four consecutive games since Weeks 14-17 of 2006 when the Steelers rushed for 732 yards and is the most in four consecutive games under head coach Mike Tomlin (since 2007).
That success is why Faulkner was tasked with taking over the offensive coordinator position – and why we should continue to see an emphasis on the ground game against a Cardinals defense that ranks 30th defensively against the run (140.1 yards-per-game). Only the Jets (140.3) and Denver Broncos (155.2) rank lower.
It would be logical to see either Jaylen Warren (542 yards this season) and Najee Harris (598 yards) feast against their opponent Sunday.
Watt pursues history
T.J. Watt is tied for the league lead with 13.5 sacks heading into Week 13 and is the second player since 1982 (joining Reggie White) to have at least 13 sacks in five of his first seven seasons. He also has 91 sacks in 98 career games, also joining White as the only two players since 1982 to reach 90 sacks in fewer than 100 NFL games.
The official NFL record for sacks is 22.5, a figure matched by Watt in 2021, tying Michael Strahan‘s 2001 season. With six games to go, Watt needs nine sacks to tie the record, and ten to break it.
Watt has 57 career games with at least a single sack and 20 career games with two or more; suggesting he could be on pace to match his 2021 season against a Cardinals team that’s given up 33 sacks in 12 games this season (tied for seventh-most).
With a two-sack performance in one of his next two games, Watt can surpass Jared Allen (20 games) and Pro Football Hall of Famer Bruce Smith (20) for the fourth-most games with at least two sacks in a player’s first 100 NFL games since 1982.
Home field advantage
The Steelers are 4-2 playing at Acrisure Stadium this season, but the Arizona Cardinals are 0-6 in road trips in 2023. Sunday’s game will be the 32nd regular-season meeting between the two teams in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers lead the all-time series 36-23-3 with a 22-8-1 advantage, last winning in Pittsburgh on October 18th, 2015 with a combination of Michael Vick and Landry Jones playing quarterback.
Also, Pittsburgh is 14-6 (.700) since Week 10 of 2022. Only San Francisco (17-3, .850),Kansas City (16-4, .800), Philadelphia (16-4, .800), Detroit (15-5, .750) and Jacksonville (14-5, .737) have better records in that span.
James Conner‘s return
Former University of Pittsburgh Panther and Pittsburgh Steelers running back James Conner makes his first return trip to Pittsburgh since signing with Arizona as a free agent in 2021. In his third season with the Cardinals, Conner is averaging a career-best 5.1 yards-per-carry. He leads the Cardinals with 526 rushing yards and was named to the Pro Bowl in 2021 after scoring 15 touchdowns: his second Pro Bowl nod after doing so with the Steelers as a starter in 2018.
Conner was also a beloved figure in Pittsburgh due to beating Hodgkin’s lymphoma during his college days and had one of the best-selling Steelers jerseys ever during his inaugural seasons in the NFL.
It will be interesting to see how the hometown crowd receives Conner on Sunday.
