Friday Football Footnotes: Plenty for Steelers fans to watch during team’s bye weekend
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The Pittsburgh Steelers are off this week for their bye. But there is plenty to watch in the NFL this weekend through a Black and Gold lens. For this week’s “Friday Football Footnotes,” we give you a list of things to track and monitor while the Steelers take a break this Sunday.
Because you know they’ll be keeping tabs on the same items.
Cooper and Puka
The Steelers’ (3-2) next game is out west against the Los Angeles Rams on Oct. 23. This week, L.A. (2-3) is hosting the Arizona Cardinals (1-4).
One of the Steelers’ biggest problems so far this year is that the secondary has been frequently toasted by top receiving targets from other teams. Brandon Aiyuk (San Francisco), Amari Cooper (Cleveland), Davante Adams (Las Vegas) and Nico Collins (Houston) all had at least 90 yards receiving. They averaged 139.75 per game against the Steelers.
However, Pittsburgh’s defense did a better job in that regard against Baltimore last week. Quarterback Lamar Jackson was limited to 236 yards passing and no receiver had more than 73 yards receiving (Zay Flowers).
Next week, barring injury, coordinator Teryl Austin’s crew will have a big challenge on their hands. The Rams have former All-Pro Cooper Kupp back on the field. He returned to action last week after missing 12 games bridging this year and last with ankle and hamstring injuries. But in his first game back last week versus the Philadelphia Eagles, he had eight catches for 118 yards.
Cooper Kupp already has 4 catches this drive ???? @CooperKupp
????: #PHIvsLAR on FOX
????: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/LxW25sxPWA pic.twitter.com/RsW9ovfLNk— NFL (@NFL) October 8, 2023
But even when Kupp was out, the Rams passing game flourished with receivers Puka Nacua and Tutu Atwell holding down the fort. Nacua leads the NFL with 46 catches and is second behind Tyreek Hill in yards with 572. Atwell has 24 catches (more than anyone on the Steelers) for 279 yards.
“We’ve cut down on (giving up) the big pass plays,” Austin said this week. “When we hit the break last year, we had way too many. So, I feel good about where we are in that regard. But those were always areas that you’ve got to improve, you’ve got to be better.”
The Rams have the fifth-best passing offense in the NFL at 270 yards per game. The Steelers pass defense gives up 245 yards per game, 24th in the NFL.
However the Steelers have five interceptions, only six teams have more. Plus the Pittsburgh defense has 17 sacks. Only Buffalo (21) and Baltimore (18) have a higher total than the Steelers.
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All about A.D.
Over the first three weeks of the season, the Steelers faced three pass rushers with Pro Bowl resumes — Nick Bosa, Myles Garrett and Maxx Crosby. Houston rookie Will Anderson Jr. has a high pedigree in that regard as well.
While Pickett was sacked eight times over those first three games, Bosa and Garrett were shut out, and Crosby only had one.
Now the Steelers will have a different challenge, slowing the pass rush and run game disruption of Aaron Donald on the interior. That’ll be a big challenge for left guard Isaac Seumalo, center Mason Cole and whoever plays right guard (Nick Herbig or James Daniels).
“We talked about that with Myles, and with Crosby and with Bosa in the openers,” Steelers offensive line coach Pat Meyer said. “You try to do some things to try to neutralize them as much as you can. They moved (Donald) around a good bit in passing situations. They move him from inside to outside. That makes it a little bit harder. But you always try to take their best player and minimize him as much as you can.”
Over his first five games, Donald has registered 2.5 sacks and five tackles for loss. Pickett has been sacked 14 times overall, tied for ninth most in the NFL.
Wake up early
If you want to see how the Baltimore Ravens (3-2) will rebound from their heartbreaker of a loss in Pittsburgh last week, you are going to have to get up early.
The Ravens play in the London game this Sunday. They are taking on the Tennessee Titans (2-3) at 9:30 a.m. EST.
The Titans are technically the home team Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. But they are 0-3 away from Nashville this year. Both teams are 0-1 all-time in London.
The Ravens flew out Monday morning, giving players more time to acclimate to the time change. The Titans didn’t leave until Thursday night.
The Ravens and Steelers are tied atop the AFC North at 3-2. But the Steelers hold the theoretical tiebreaker by virtue of their head-to-head win at Acrisure Stadium last week.
Welcome back!
Elsewhere in the division, the Cleveland Browns are coming off a Week 5 bye. And they won’t be able to warm up to the competition after the downtime.
Cleveland hosts the 5-0 San Francisco 49ers at 1 p.m. Sunday. The Niners have been the best team in the NFL over the first month of the season.
Worse yet, the Browns will be without starting quarterback Deshaun Watson. Head coach Kevin Stefanski said Wednesday in Watson’s place, the Browns would start veteran P.J. Walker, who was recently promoted from the team’s practice squad. He will face a 49ers defense that ranks first in the NFL in points allowed at 13.6.
According to the CBS Sports report, Watson sat out practice Wednesday and Thursday. Dorian Thompson-Robinson is the team’s other backup quarterback.
#Browns QBs P.J. Walker (10) and Dorian Thompson-Robinson practicing today. Deshaun Watson (right shoulder) not practicing again pic.twitter.com/aeCqzrC8Xm
— Scott Petrak ct (@ScottPetrak) October 12, 2023
According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, Watson doesn’t have any structural damage to his shoulder, but he has a bruised rotator cuff. She has been told that it takes two to six weeks to fully heal from such an injury. This Sunday will be Week 3.
"Deshaun Watson has a bruised rotator cuff and it takes 2-6 weeks to fully heal from such an injury..
This Sunday would be 3 weeks but if he feels ready to go he's gonna play" @MaryKayCabot #PMSLive https://t.co/e0MqQiR0iZ pic.twitter.com/FZCcMc5Zmq
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 12, 2023
Walker appeared in six games for the Carolina Panthers last year. He went 2-3 in games he started. Thompson-Robinson started the Browns’ Week 4 loss (28-3) to the Ravens, tossing three interceptions and taking four sacks.
On the rebound?
The other team in the AFC North is the Cincinnati Bengals (2-3). After a 34-20 win over the Arizona Cardinals, there is some hope in Cincy that the reigning division champions may be getting it together after a sluggish start.
Quarterback Joe Burrow appeared as healthy as he has been all year with that injured calf he’s been dealing with. He threw for 317 yards and three touchdowns, all to Ja’Marr Chase. The star wideout caught 15 passes for 195 yards.
The Bengals host the Seattle Seahawks at 1 p.m. Sunday. Seattle enters at 3-1, but they are a 2.5-point underdog.