5 Steelers who need bigger plays in Week 5
The Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1) will enter Sunday night’s primetime game looking not just for a victory over the Dallas Cowboys (2-2) but also a rebound after their Week 4 loss. Five Steelers players need to be difference makers to help Pittsburgh do that.
Calvin Austin
There remains no true “WR2” on the Steelers’ active roster, but Austin has had some big plays recently at receiver. His best performance this season was a 95 yard game in Week 3. In that game he caught 4-of-5 balls thrown his direction. He also scored his first touchdown of the season when he streaked down the field after a catch.
If quarterback Justin Fields and the Steelers offense want to get off to a quick start, targeting Austin more often would certainly help. Fields has been accurate and despite Austin’s speed is an asset that is complimentary in the open field when George Pickens is heavily covered.
Zach Frazier
Frazier, the Steelers’ rookie center, has played well but he has taken flak for poor snaps. An early snap due to an incorrect signal by Fields that hit the side of the quarterback’s helmet in Week 4 was costly; the error resulted in a major loss of yardage and killed a last-minute drive that could have at least set up a Chris Boswell field goal for a tie that would have forced overtime.
“If you take care of the ball on offense and take it away on defense, then you always have a good chance of winning. We’ve seen that happen plenty of times here.” – Spencer Anderson
When Frazier plays a cleaner game, it’s clear that he is a great anchor for the offensive line. If the Steelers are to be successful, they’ll need Frazier to have better communication with Fields and win battles in the trenches.
Najee Harris
The running back made statements to the media after last Sunday’s loss that weren’t well-received by fans. Others felt his statements focused on the failures as something the team should own rather than blaming any single player for the loss His frustration may have just boiled over after seeing the run game sputter when he was called-upon versus teammate Cordarrelle Patterson.
Harris is expected to be the bell cow, so to speak, in handling carries in the run game this Sunday. He’s fighting for a future, whether with the Steelers or elsewhere in the NFL. Harris needs a breakout performance and, if he can get going, it will keep the offense from being forced to put an emphasis on winning via the pass.
Donte Jackson, Joey Porter Jr. tandem
The top cornerbacks in the Steelers system will be tasked with preventing Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb from getting hot in this weekend’s game. Dak Prescott won’t have Brandin Cooks to target due to injury, so Dallas will be asking Jaylen Tolbert, Jalen Brooks, KaVontae Turpin, and Ryan Flournoy to get into the mix to keep Pittsburgh’s defensive backfield on its toes.
“We have a good defense. We just have to come in… prepare ourselves for a really good offense who has played a lot of ball together.” – Donte Jackson on the Cowboys
Lamb enters the game with 20 receptions for 316 yards and 2 touchdowns. His yards-per-catch average through four games is 15.8. Jackson and Porter Jr. have the talent to lock down top receivers, but they’ll need to work well in tandem to give the Steelers defense a way to control the game and get back on pace after a rough, slow start against the Colts.
