The Pittsburgh Steelers are looking to avoid their third straight loss this week when they take on the Raiders in Las Vegas. How can they win? Here are the keys to victory.
Get off the field on third down
Over the last two weeks, the Steelers’ defense ranks 27th in third down success rate. For a unit that is the highest paid in football, that’s simply unacceptable. The Raiders rank 22nd in third-down offense and are starting Aidan O’Connell. They also won’t have Davante Adams. If you can’t slow down this unit, then just pack it up and call it because you can’t stop anyone. Play up to your salary, get off the field, and dominate a team that you are better than.
Feed Jaylen Warren
I’ve seen enough of Najee Harris. There’s no explosiveness there. On the bright side, there have been a large number of funny comps to come out of this season.
“Najee Harris runs like he’s wearing jeans.”
“Najee Harris runs like he’s in work boots.”
Hilarious. The run game being this bad isn’t hilarious, though. Jaylen Warren will be back – give him the ball.
Be aggressive offensively
For the love of all that is holy, open up the offense. The Steelers can’t run the ball because everyone and their mother knows when they are going to run the ball. Launch a deep ball on the first play of scrimmage for the offense. Come out and immediately make the Raiders have to respect the fact that you’ll test them deep. This is a pipe dream because Mike Tomlin wouldn’t know the definition of aggressive if it hit him in the face, but what they will do and what they should do are different things. Take the training wheels off this offense and show some fortitude.
Source link