Football Footnotes: Beyond trying to slow Jayden Daniels, here are 5 other matchups to watch during Steelers-Commanders
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Without a doubt, Sunday’s feature matchup during the Steelers-Commanders game is going to be how the Pittsburgh defense handles Washington rookie sensation Jayden Daniels.
The first-year quarterback has a passer rating of 106.7 — the fifth-best in the NFL. His 71.5% completion percentage is third-best. That said, the Steelers have a 50-15 record against first-year starting QBs since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, via the Associated Press.
But that’s not the only big Xs-and-Os collision to watch for between these two playoff contenders. For this Friday’s Football Footnotes, here are five more to keep an eye on beyond how the Steelers deal with the NFL’s potential Rookie of the Year.
• Will Joey Porter Jr. shadow Washington wide receiver Terry McLaurin? I think he should, and Porter sure seems to want that matchup.
“That doesn’t even need to be said,” Porter told the NFL Network’s “The Insiders” show. “I think (coach Mike Tomlin) knows. He knows what I want. … Coach T understands me and my game style. I like the hard matchups. I like being under the lights, and I really don’t shy away from the pressure. So if he feels like I need to go get the No. 1 guy and shut them down, that’s what I’m going to do.”
However, Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin stopped short of assuring Porter would be a shadow for McLaurin.
“If that’s what we wanted to do, we could do it,” Austin said. “They move him around. He is a veteran. You’ll see him in the slot sometimes. At weak (side), outside, strong. If we need to match and make that move, we would be able to get that done.”
McLaurin has 29 more targets, 20 more receptions and 281 more yards than Noah Brown. He is the next closest Washington wide receiver in all of those categories.
From a size perspective, though, at times, the Steelers may want to put Porter (6-foot-2, 193 pounds) on Brown (6-2, 225) instead of having Donte Jackson (5-10, 180) try that battle. McLaurin checks in at about 6-foot and 210 pounds.
“McLaurin is a guy that is a significant winner in one-on-one matchups,” coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday. “We better do a good job in thoughtfully managing our exposure to him and working to minimize him.”
McLaurin begins the weekend seventh in receiving yards with 598. Only Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase (10) has more touchdowns than McLaurin (6).
• The Steelers must win consistently on first and second downs when they are on defense. The Commanders are great on third-down and fourth-down conversions. Washington entered the week fourth in the NFL in third-down conversions at 45.9%. They are also 11 for 11 on fourth downs.
“If it’s a run play, it’s going to have some type of quarterback run play off of it,” linebacker Elandon Roberts said. “They run the ball very well. They have a good front along their offensive line. They have two good backs (Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler).”
The Steelers need to make those attempts as difficult as possible to convert.
“They do a good job of staying on schedule,” Austin said. “Coming out of last week’s game, they had zero attempts of third-and-11-plus. They didn’t get behind the sticks at all. It’s really important for us, if we want to keep them from those fourth-and-shorts, to get them into second-and-long.”
So far this season, the Steelers are 11th in third-down conversion defense (34.7%). They have allowed six fourth-down conversion attempts in 10 tries.
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• Najee Harris has three straight 100-yard games on the ground. The rush attack may be getting into a groove.
“A lot of recent success. That’s been a work in progress all year,” offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said. “It’s a credit to the whole unit. I like the way we are trending.”
The Steelers would be wise to lean into the run a lot in this game. Washington’s rush defense is the fourth-worst in the NFL at 143.0 yards allowed per game. Meanwhile, the pass defense is fifth-best at 183.3 yards allowed per game.
Not only that, but the Steelers are getting Zach Frazier back at center.
• The Steelers ought to have an advantage in the defensive red zone. At 37.5%, Austin’s unit is the best in the NFL.
“They don’t shrink up when it gets crunchy down there,” Austin said of the red-zone group. “Our guys are doing a good job of working at it, recognizing some tendencies of other people, seeing what they do, and putting themselves into position to make plays and finishing it off.”
For all the things that the Commanders are doing well, scoring touchdowns in the red zone isn’t one of them. They are 26th in football at just 51.2%.
The Commanders at least cash in with three points most times when they get down low, though. The team’s kicker, Austin Seibert, has 25 field goals to lead the NFL. He has only missed two kicks, both beyond 50 yards. He’s 24 of 24 under 50 yards.
• Speaking of kicking, The Steelers have been excellent in a lot of special teams areas.
One area where they haven’t exploded yet, though, is on kick returns. They only have had seven of them, and they are averaging a league-low 21.0 yards.
That might change Sunday. The Commanders have allowed 41 total returns for 1,037 yards, the most in the NFL in both categories.
Listen: This week’s Fantasy Sports podcast with Tim Benz and Jeff Erickson.