Pittsburgh Steelers Week 10 Stock Report
The Pittsburgh Steelers came away victorious in their Week 9 shootout against the Oakland Raiders, winning 38-35. But there was still a loss for Pittsburgh in the game, as quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suffered a mid-foot sprain that could see him miss several weeks of action, if not at least Sunday's contest against the Cleveland Browns.
Who is heading into this divisional matchup with momentum and who is struggling? Here is the Steelers' Week 10 stock report.
Stock Up: WR Antonio Brown
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The drought for Antonio Brown appears to be over if Week 9 was any indication. An on-fire Brown, taking advantage of the Raiders' weaknesses in coverage, set personal and franchise bests in receptions and receiving yards, catching 17 passes on 23 targets for 284 yards. He also rushed twice for 22 yards, bringing his from-scrimmage total to 306 on the day.
And the production didn't drop off when Landry Jones came in for the injured Ben Roethlisberger. Brown continued to see targets and catch passes, including a 3rd-and-2 pass that Brown took 57 yards, to the Raiders' 15-yard line. That big gain—and the DeAngelo Williams run that followed—allowed Chris Boswell to kick the field goal that won the game for the Steelers.
Brown struggled to make plays during Roethlisberger's earlier MCL injury—except during Week 7 against the Kansas City Chiefs, when Jones served as quarterback and Brown caught six of eight passes for 124 yards. Given Jones and Brown have managed to build chemistry of late and that Brown is frequently impossible for Cleveland to cover, another big day could be on the way for Pittsburgh's top receiver.
Stock Down: Passing Defense
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Week 9 was a rough one for Pittsburgh's passing defense, both in the secondary and in the front seven. Pittsburgh's defense had totaled 22 sacks heading into the game but could not get to Raiders quarterback Derek Carr beyond a lone hit.
Carr's offensive line has been a good one this year, allowing only eight sacks on the season, but the Steelers had defensive end Stephon Tuitt back in the fold and have looked relatively dominant. They needed to create that pressure against Carr and Oakland's high-powered passing offense.
Because they couldn't rattle Carr, that left Pittsburgh's oft-struggling secondary to fend for itself. As such, Carr completed 24 of his 44 pass attempts for 301 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. Carr particularly picked on cornerback Antwon Blake, who saw 15 passes thrown his direction. Blake allowed nine catches for 107 yards and a score, according to Pro Football Focus.
Blake wasn't the only one to struggle, though. Linebacker Lawrence Timmons gave up six catches on 12 passes for 120 yards and a score. While cornerback Ross Cockrell did have an interception, he also gave up a touchdown. Linebacker Ryan Shazier also allowed a touchdown.
The Steelers have used their pass rush to help neutralize some of their weaknesses in coverage, and for the most part, it's worked. But against strong quarterbacks who are well-protected, as Carr was, this could happen again to the Steelers.
Stock Up: TE Jesse James
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Rookie Steelers tight end Jesse James saw his first regular-season action in Week 9, stepping in for the injured Matt Spaeth. According to Pro Football Focus, he played 33 of a possible 87 snaps—more than even Spaeth typically had before his injury.
That wasn't James' only first of the week. He not only caught his first professional NFL pass but also his first NFL touchdown. On the day, he caught both passes thrown his way for 13 yards and a score, which put the Steelers up 35-21 at the time.
Not just that, but James also was present as a blocker on numerous occasions. The Steelers drafted James to be a do-it-all tight end in the mold of longtime starter Heath Miller, and though the sample size was small in Week 9, it appears James is making the necessary progress to reach that point.
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Stock Down: TE Heath Miller
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It's not Jesse James' Week 9 performance that has fellow tight end Heath Miller's stock on the downswing headed into Sunday's meeting with the Cleveland Browns, though his three catches for 32 yards against the Raiders were certainly not as impressive as his 10 catches for 105 yards against the Bengals the week prior.
No, the reason why his stock is down is because he won't be as valuable a receiving weapon to Landry Jones as he is for Ben Roethlisberger. During Roethlisberger's recent four-game absence, he had only four receptions for 51 yards, 46 coming in one game. Instead, most of his snaps were spent as a run-blocker rather than running routes; the opposite is the case when Roethlisberger has been on the field.
That's not to say Miller isn't valuable as a blocker. But if he's a blocker more than he's a receiving option for Jones, that means one less potential target for the quarterback—and a reliable, chains-moving one at that.
Stock Up: RB DeAngelo Williams
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DeAngelo Williams was a more than fine replacement for the injured Le'Veon Bell in Week 9, rushing 27 times for 170 yards and two first-half scores. He also caught two passes on four targets for 55 yards, making him the Steelers' second-leading receiver of the week.
It's no surprise he handled such a workload so well given the 41 carries for 204 yards and three scores he put up in Weeks 1 and 2 when Bell was serving his suspension. Williams should have a field day on Sunday against the league's worst run defense, which is giving up an average of 147.6 rushing yards per game.
The only wrinkle in this plan could be Williams' foot, which is inflamed after so much running in Week 9. Though it shouldn't keep him off the field, it could result in fewer touches and thus fewer yards. But his stock is still climbing thanks to what he did against the Raiders and the weak run defense ahead for him on Sunday.
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