Steelers vs. Titans: Breaking Down Pittsburgh's Game Plan

Well, it's a rebound week for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh suffered an embarrassing albeit not entirely surprising 20-13 loss to the New York Jets last Sunday. However, this week they have a chance to get back on track before their bye as they travel to Tennessee to take on the hapless Titans.

It wasn't surprising because the reality is this isn't the first time in recent memory that the Steelers playing well has gone into a game against an opponent with a sub-.500 record and lost when they should have won.

Will this group fare better against the 2-7 Titans? They absolutely will, and here is how it'll happen.

When the Steelers are on offense

Pittsburgh and its coaches tried to get a little too cute on Sunday against the Jets, and it cost them dearly. Rather than use running back Le'Veon Bell like the workhorse he is and let quarterback Ben Roethlisberger work the defense deep, Pittsburgh went completely off script. Everything that had worked in victories over the Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens was noticeably absent for a good portion of the game. 

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Look for Pittsburgh to get back to the script this week. The Titans are allowing 136.6 yards per game on the ground, and the Steelers must exploit that weakness. There’s nothing better for the confidence of a running back and his offensive line than to come out and impose their will on an opposing defense.

I expect to see the Steelers get back to that patient, inside zone game that helped Bell rack up 691 yards in the first eight games. If Pittsburgh wants to win this game, they need the Bell who was averaging 100 yards of offense per game for the bulk of the season to tote the rock much more. That means getting him the football 25-plus times as either a rusher or receiver.

The other real plus to this is it will open up the play-action passing game. Pittsburgh went to the well far too often with the horizontal-route concepts and didn’t work to their strengths. Those strengths are wide receivers Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant.

Brown is one of the most complete wide receivers in the game. His skills force critics to toss out the narrative of height and success for wide receivers. Brown has amassed 79 receptions and 1,070 yards in 10 games. These numbers top the league in both categories.

"

The big year continues for Antonio Brown. He gets to 1,000 receiving yards faster than anyone in @Steelers history. pic.twitter.com/gkaVqO7hgz

— NFLonCBS (@NFLonCBS) November 9, 2014 "

Yet against the Jets, Brown was only targeted nine times (of which he caught eight). This was the first time since Week 1 that Brown didn’t see double-digit targets. This has to change against the Titans.

Bryant's role in this offense must be discussed along the same lines. Bryant wasn’t activated until Week 6, which looks like it was a few weeks late. Even head coach Mike Tomlin agrees that Bryant is getting more being on the field than just practicing:

"

Tomlin: Martavis Bryant getting better since he started playing. Improved more while playing than he did sitting. (Go figure.) #Steelers

— Alan Robinson (@arobinson_Trib) November 11, 2014"

On the season, Bryant has six touchdowns on only 14 receptions. The only wide receivers with as many touchdowns are the Baltimore Ravens' Torrey Smith and the Dallas Cowboys' Terrance Williams. Both have played four more games and have 13 more receptions apiece.

Say what you will about his inexperience, but the kid can play. Yes, putting Bryant out there for more snaps means less no-huddle offense, but so what? It wasn’t like it was fooling anyone. Put Bryant in positions to make plays and get those snaps up; good things will happen.

"

Rookie WR Martavis Bryant has three of the Steelers' seven longest pass plays this season, including the longest -- 80, 52, 45 yards.

— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) November 12, 2014"

When the Steelers are on defense

On paper, it is hard to see what the Titans do well on offense. With the Jets, the talent was on the roster, and they found a way to put it all together against the Steelers. I don’t see that sort of combination with Tennessee, in particular with rookie quarterback Zach Mettenberger getting another start. Nevertheless, Mettenberger has been solid:

"

FWIW: Through 2 starts, Mettenberger has better passer rating (86.5) than Bortles, Bridgewater or Carr did. Also than Luck or Locker.

— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) November 10, 2014"

With the struggles Pittsburgh has had stopping the run and the deep throw, I expect the Titans to at least try and do a bit of both. Rookie running back Bishop Sankey is a promising player with real NFL talent.

The Steelers defense has to stick to the three big points that I’ve stressed all season: 

Alex Trautwig/Getty Images

Sound fundamentals: Failure to cover the backside on a run play, biting on play action and lack of technique in tackling has hampered this defense all season. Even against a team like Tennessee that has struggled, all these things must improve over Sunday’s performance against the Jets.

Pressure: With a rookie under center, the Steelers have a chance to wreak havoc with their pass rush. This is a week to be aggressive. Play press in coverage, and send numbers at Mettenberger. Mettenberger isn't going to run away from anyone, so Pittsburgh can just bring the heat. Wide receiver Kendall Wright leads the team in receptions with 39, so he must be accounted for. However, keep in mind that’s 40 fewer than Brown has for Pittsburgh.

"

The Steelers either Sacked or hit Vick on every 2 Pass Plays. 4 Sacks and 7 QB hits in 22 Pass Plays. Bodes Well against Mettenberger.

— Lance Williams (@SteelRadio) November 13, 2014"

Turnovers: It really seemed like the Steelers had found the formula for creating turnovers, but they could not muster a single one against the Jets. This goes back to the previous point about pressure. Yes, aggressive play can mean you give up the big play once in awhile, but it you want to make an omelette, you have to break some eggs.

Prediction and implications

There’s no way the Steelers will come out flat two weeks in a row. With all due respect to the Jets, that loss was embarrassing, even if it wasn’t out of character:

"

Steelers actually have lost 11 times to sub-.500 teams at the time that they played them since 2012. Teams had 15-48 record. Steelers 32-30

— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly_Trib) November 10, 2014"

Pittsburgh is going to go out and exact a little revenge for last week’s loss on the Titans. Then they can ease into the bye week and get their minds and bodies right for the final push of the regular season.

The playoffs are still in sight, but they simply cannot drop a second game against a bad team and hope to be taken seriously.

No, it’s going to be a big does of the four B’s on offense (Ben, Bell, Brown, Bryant) and an aggressive and opportunistic defense that will make things right. Steelers will win this one big.

Steelers 42, Titans 21

All stats courtesy of ESPN.com.