The 5: Steelers focal points in road game with Rams
The Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2) will be in the road at SoFi Stadium to face the Los Angeles Rams (3-3) in Week 7 of the 2023 NFL regular season. The Steelers are exiting the bye looking for continuity and consistency in their play against a Rams team that L.A. fans are calling “better than expected.”
In this article we look at five focal points the Steelers must step up and apply themselves to in order to successfully exit the game with a victory.
Solid, aware offensive line play
Fans would love to see Broderick Jones play in place of Dan Moore on the Steelers’ offensive line this weekend. Regardless of what personnel are actually called-upon to fill the tackles, guards, and center position, though, the team and coaches have to focus on the play being solid in all aspects.
Aaron Donald isn’t the only Rams defender that could alter Pittsburgh’s offense’s game plan, although his ability to be disruptive in indisputable.
“(Donald) is super smart… He knows our plays if we’re lined up in a certain formation. He knows that stuff and you can see it.” – OG James Daniels
If the Steelers want to be successful offensively, they’ve got to account for Donald while maintaining overall awareness in pass-pro and providing lanes for the ground game to open things up. That will include giving Mason Cole additional help when the L.A. defense tries to isolate him, as Pat Meyers’ schemes often do to opposing centers.
Lockdown coverage
An area that the Steelers have struggled against is the number of yards they’ve allowed to opposing wide receivers. The defense has allowed three wide receivers to grab 100 yards on them prior to the bye week and five to hit the 80+ yards mark.
That fact wasn’t lost on head coach Mike Tomlin when he was asked about it by the press, but he said those numbers didn’t concern him. He insisted, “It’ll get cleaned up.”
The Steelers did sign cornerback Darius Rush this week as they released Desmond King. If that signals a cleaning is unclear, at this point, but the Steelers’ defensive backfield would give a huge boost to the team overall if they were able to lock down receivers Cooper Kupp and Puca Nacua.
https://twitter.com/steelers/status/1714309991648141565?t=GCuEx17LQei9ii87iMAN5A&s=19
If the Rams receivers have trouble getting open due to tight coverage, it provides a big lift for the Steelers’ defensive front to limit Matt Stafford’s big play ability and force Los Angeles to test a running back group that is currently in flux due to injury.
“They have a great offense, a great quarterback and a great surrounding cast with him. We know we’ve got to be able to get after him. They do pass a lot. We have to be able to get them off the spot and cause a lot of pressure this week.” – Alex Highsmith
Playmakers making plays
The Steelers reportedly spent a majority of the bye fine-tuning and retooling certain aspects of their game. No, they didn’t fire offensive coordinator Matt Canada. No, they didn’t make any major roster moves.
Tomlin did suggest that there was a focus on applying more pressure for playmakers to make plays. Teryl Austin indicated that fans could “probably anticipate it,” when it comes to Joey Porter, Jr. getting more time on the field this week.
Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren being actively utilized in numerous offensive schemes, not just the run or short-yardage, would give Pittsburgh a way to beat the blitz and force a young Rams defense to deal with more playmakers – like George Pickens and Calvin Austin – in space where they’re less capable of having multiple players converge on the ball.
Adjusting as necessity dictates
The Steelers will need to find a way to adjust to what the Rams show them. That starts with coaching and then comes down to execution by individuals. How well Pittsburgh handles those factors will be pivotal in this game.
Coach Aaron Curry & Denzel Martin spoke to the media about the linebackers. pic.twitter.com/eouG7rFX7V
— Steelers Live (@SteelersLive) October 11, 2023
Pressure, pressure, pressure
The Steelers are currently fielding what are arguably the best duo of edge pressuring linebackers in the NFL this season in T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. Building off of the success those two have had in applying pressure should allow Pittsburgh to find other areas where high pressure can be applied.
Force the Rams to adjust more. Keep Stafford off his game. Shut down the run. Execute well on special teams.
Football is a game of inches, but it’s also a game of intensity and pressure. Applying the right mix at the right time will play a major factor in the outcome of this game against the Rams.
