Five Steelers to watch against the Washington Football Team
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 we think will make a difference in the game against the Washington Football Team in Week 13.
There are two things that are a bit hard to wrap one’s mind around this week; first, there is just a football team in Washington (D.C.) and the Pittsburgh Steelers are entering the final few weeks of the 2020 NFL regular season with zero losses. Let’s add absurdity to the mix: Gregg Rosenthal’s sensationalized headline of “Undefeated no more! Washington stuns Steelers”. It’s not that there is zero chance that the Steelers could lay an egg on Monday night but the fact that Rosenthal just blatantly admitted, “I want to see [Alex] Smith help topple the last undefeated team, and I want to see his postgame interview at 5 p.m. PT on a Monday afternoon” seemed a bit brash with the record Washington currently holds in the NFL. Pittsburgh has been playing competitive teams, however (despite what some pundits have insisted on social media), while the NFC East is a complete disaster. Here are five Steelers we think will play a big role in securing another victory this week.
Next man up at the edge
With news that outside linebacker Bud Dupree would miss the remainder of the 2020 season due to an ACL injury (knee), there has been a little extra chatter around the water cooler as to what the Steelers will do on the edge opposite Defensive Player of the Year Award winner T.J. Watt (okay, he hasn’t won it, yet.) Head coach Mike Tomlin hasn’t pulled any punches in his press conferences this season, going so far as to say that the team does not care when, who, or where they play a game in the middle of a COVID-19 riddled season of scheduling issues. So, it came as little surprise when Tomlin said the Steelers would be ringing Alex Highsmith‘s bell.
“I’m just as comfortable and confident (in Highsmith) as I was in Robert Spillane when we called upon him [in place of Devin Bush], or in Kevin Dotson when we called upon him [on the offensive line].” – Mike Tomlin
Highsmith, in his rookie season, has played just 139 defensive snaps but has logged 20 tackles (three for a loss), a sack, and one interception. Highsmith impressed Tomlin and the Steelers staff during the pre-Draft interview process. “He had a tangible, growing resume,” Tomlin admitted, “and he has some maturity that we thought would aid us if he was called upon the way he’s being called upon now.”
With veteran quarterback Alex Smith back in action for Washington, the team has picked up a bit. Smith, whose QBR is 81.3 due, in large part, to inaccuracy is still leading an offense that averaged 29.3 points per game in his three starts. Applying pressure opposite Watt will now be Highsmith, making this a key player to keep an eye on for sure in this game.
Shutting down Gibson, McLaurin
Rookie running back Antonio Gibson and sophomore receiver Terry McLaurin are the most valuable weapons Washington has at their disposal. Since Washington turned the run game over to Gibson to carry, he’s averaged 15 touches per game. Against the Dallas Cowboys, Gibson rushed for 115 yards and scored three touchdowns. McLaurin showed, as a rookie, that he had a special talent. In ten of his eleven games this season, McLaurin has caught a minimum of four passes for at least 61 yards.
With Steven Nelson having undergone an MRI on a knee this week after being injured in the game with the Ravens, Joe Haden is the likely guy to be tasked with containing McLaurin on the outside. Haden, who grabbed his first pick-six as a member of the Steelers squad last weekend, could have another big day if he gets the underneath help he needs from the nickelbacks and linebackers.
Stopping Gibson from moving the chains on the ground will be a whole-team task for the Steelers defense. Tyson Alualu has been formidable throughout the season and how he is able to put pressure on the Washington offensive line should help define whether the Steelers can force Smith to second-guess the playcalling and move away from the ground game.
Strength in the trenches
The Steelers had kept Roethlisberger relatively clean during the first few games of the season but the offensive line has struggled a little more over time. Against the Ravens, Kevin Dotson entered the game for Chukwuma Okorafor. The run game has suffered a bit as a result of inconsistencies and Roethlisberger has seen more pressure. With J.C. Hassenauer at center for Maurkice Pouncey, the offensive line was serviceable. They’ll all need to pull up their socks this week.
Washington enters Week 13 tied for second in the NFL in sacks, trailing only Pittsburgh at 38. The pressure from Ryan Kerrigan, Chase Young, Tim Settle, Montez Sweat, and even Jon Bostic, has allowed Washington to give up the fewest air yards of any defense per game at 194.6. No other NFL team has allowed less than 200 yards per game average this season, although the Steelers are close at 203.5.
Keep an eye on Dotson and Hassenauer. If they get the snaps, how they handle the pressure is going to determine whether the Steelers are able to get into any kind of rhythm on offense.
