Arizona Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: What's the Game Plan for Arizona?

Even with Ben Roethlisberger missing out through injury, the Arizona Cardinals face their toughest test of the season on Sunday afternoon against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The 3-2 Steelers have managed to tread water without their star quarterback, beating the San Diego Chargers at the buzzer on Monday night. They might not be explosive at the moment, but they're a solid football team that knows how to win.

Arizona will have to stay within itself if it's going to leave Pittsburgh with a victory. The Cardinals have had time for fun during their 4-1 start, but those moments will be few and far between on Sunday. This is going to be an altogether grittier affair. 

Let's take a look at how the Cardinals might go about taking the game to Pittsburgh. 

Offensive Game Plan

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

Via the indispensable Pro Football Focus, here are the two big numbers as it pertains to the Steelers defense.

Category	Total	Rank
Pass Coverage Grade	-19.3	31st
Missed Tackles	72	32nd

An inability to cover and an inability to tackle generally leads to bad times (depending on which team you root for), and the Steelers defense have had its struggles. It isn't so much a mess as it is lacking in ability.

Much of the damage struck to Pittsburgh's defense comes underneath and when the safeties have one-on-one responsibilities in coverage. As a result, tight ends Rob Gronkowski, Antonio Gates, Ladarius Green and Vernon Davis have all had their moments against the Steelers.

It's unlikely head coach Bruce Arians and offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin will choose to exploit Pittsburgh's deficiencies in that particular manner, but other options are available. Getting Chris Johnson, Andre Ellington and John Brown the ball in space is a good place to start.

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

Worth watching is how the Cardinals deploy Larry Fitzgerald. Will they be able to get him into favorable matchups in the slot? Fitzgerald is always going to have the advantage over linebackers and safeties, but that will never be more true than this week.

So, the Steelers can't cover, and they can't tackle. This should be easy for the Cardinals offense, right? No.

The "Blitzburgh" spirit is alive and well. Again via Pro Football Focus, the Steelers have already totaled 66 hurries on the season, and they generate no shortage of pressure with their 3-4 defense. 

Carson Palmer and center Lyle Sendlein will have to be on point with their protection calls, or No. 3 is going to be hitting the turf a lot. We know by now Arians is loath to provide extra blockers to keep his quarterback upright, so Palmer might have to commit to getting rid of the ball early, something that may play well into the game plan anyway. 

Defensive Game Plan

Lenny Ignelzi/Associated Press

This is just another among the many variations along the "cut off the head and the snake will die" theme. Arizona must stop Le'Veon Bell to stop the Steelers offense.

Without Ben Roethlisberger under center, Pittsburgh's offense hasn't exactly become one-dimensional, but it's certainly straddling that line. In two games as a starter, Mike Vick has managed only 327 passing yards, which isn't too far away from the 265 yards produced on the ground by Bell and DeAngelo Williams.

Pittsburgh's offensive line has been just good enough to give Bell enough room to make a play. He's patient, shifty and a pain in the neck to tackle. Kevin Minter, Deone Bucannon and the safety trio will have to tackle well to keep Bell in check.

The return of Martavis Bryant means the Steelers will have four deep threats at their disposal, but it remains to be seen if Vick can actually hit any of them. Antonio Brown has suffered as much as anyone during Roethlisberger's absence, totaling just 87 yards in the two games Vick has started. 

If there is a reason for concern, it's the injury to linebacker Alex Okafor. Rookie Markus Golden will get the start on the right side, and he'll have at least partial responsibility for keeping containment on Vick, as well as keeping Bell from bouncing outside. 

Key Players and Matchups

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

Patrick Peterson vs. Antonio Brown

This was highlighted in the midweek preview, but the importance of this matchup shouldn't be understated. We are, after all, talking about two of the best players in the league at their respective positions.

Brown's struggles with Vick at quarterback have taken an obvious toll on the Steelers offense, and it's important Peterson keeps him under wraps. If Pittsburgh starts hitting on some big plays downfield, it will only open up space for the rest of the offense.

Jared Veldheer, Mike Iupati and/or Ted Larsen vs. Cam Heyward

Iupati is officially listed as questionable on the injury report, which means there's a 50 percent chance we'll see Ted Larsen get the start. Regardless of who plays left guard, he is going to have his hands full with Heyward.

Heyward is one of the league's best 3-4 defensive ends, and he was almost unstoppable against the San Diego Chargers in Week 5, registering nine hurries. Pittsburgh may employ exotic blitzes, but the pressure it creates starts with the front three.

Dwight Freeney

This may be a liberal use of the term "key player," but Freeney's going to be well worth watching on Sunday, and it's not just because he's the new face on the roster.

With Okafor out, and LaMarr Woodley listed as questionable, someone has to step up and create pressure from the outside linebacker position. The Cardinals have some young talent at the position, but Freeney's veteran experience could be crucial. Does he have any juice left?

Prediction

This game is going to be an interesting kind of litmus test for Arizona. Exactly how much did it learn from the loss to St. Louis in Week 4?

Against the Rams, Arizona struggled to protect Palmer and made poor decisions with the football, and the defense lacked discipline. The Steelers will ask similar questions on Sunday.

Arizona's superior talent should again rule the day and push the team's record to 5-1. The key will again come down to Palmer adjusting to what the Steelers present him. He failed to do that against St. Louis, but there's too much on the line for the veteran to regress.

The Cardinals have caught a few breaks so far this season, and they should continue to capitalize on their good fortune. That's what championship teams do.

Final score: Arizona 23, Pittsburgh 20