Winners and Losers of Pittsburgh Steelers' Week 4 Performance
The Pittsburgh Steelers bounced back from their Week 3 loss to the Chicago Bears by successfully going on the road and dispatching their biggest and hardest-to-beat in-division rival, the Baltimore Ravens. The 26-9 victory puts the Steelers atop the AFC North as the first quarter of the season comes to an end and provides a much-needed boost to their confidence after the debacle in Chicago.
Some players stood out in Sunday's effort, while others didn't do much to contribute to the win. Here are the Steelers' winners and losers following their win over the Ravens in Week 4.
Winner: RB Le'Veon Bell
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Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell finally saw a return to form in Week 4 after three weeks of apparent struggles—and in two instances getting fewer than 20 carries in a game. His efforts not only helped his team defeat the Ravens but also transformed the offense into the running and passing threat it was a season ago.
In total, the Steelers ran the ball 42 times for 173 yards; 35 carries and 144 yards, along with two touchdowns, belonged to Bell. He nearly matched his rushing output from his previous three games combined, and he was also an asset in the passing game with four catches on six targets for 42 yards.
The difference this week was twofold. First, the Steelers showed a greater dedication to running the ball, a product of holding a 19-0 lead by halftime. Second, the offensive line was more creative in its approach to run-blocking.
Steelers Depot's Dave Bryan broke down the numerous pulling linemen that helped create holes for Bell: "On 20 of the 40 total rushing attempts by Steelers running backs on Sunday against the Ravens, the offense had at least one offensive lineman on the move for 20 of them. Those 20 plays resulted in 122 of 171 rushing yards." Guard David DeCastro was typically the offensive lineman called upon in these situations.
This was the second week in a row Baltimore's defense gave up over 160 rushing yards, doing so in Week 3 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Clearly, the Steelers studied the Jaguars' success closely and found ways to make Bell a centerpiece of the offense, to dramatic effect.
Loser: WR Antonio Brown
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It's hard to call Steelers receiver Antonio Brown a loser at anything. With 30 catches on 45 targets and 388 receiving yards, he ranks second among wide receivers in both catches and yards through four weeks. He also regained his spot as Pittsburgh's punt returner in Week 4, a job previously held by fellow receiver Eli Rogers.
But Brown did not have a good game against Baltimore. Days earlier, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger admitted he may have been forcing the football to Brown too often. While that pattern didn't change in Week 4, the results were different than they were from Weeks 1 through 3.
Brown was Roethlisberger's most targeted receiver of the day with nine passes thrown his way, but he ended the game with just four catches for 34 yards. It could have been much more; Roethlisberger didn't see a wide-open Brown in the second quarter and threw an incomplete pass to Bell instead. The next pass, this time to Brown, also went incomplete. Brown openly expressed his frustration on the sideline.
The upside, though, is that this was likely a temporary glitch. Given what we know about Brown, Roethlisberger and the on-field chemistry between the two, another 100-plus-yard day from Brown is like it always has been—a matter of when, not if. But it is clear Brown was not the catalyst for the Steelers' defeat of the Ravens this week.
Winner: CB Mike Hilton
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One of the more notable Steelers training camp battles featured the numerous candidates to serve as the team's starting slot cornerback for the 2017 season. It was a truncated battle; injuries to contenders like Senquez Golson and rookie Cameron Sutton left the Steelers far fewer options to weigh than they anticipated. But this opened the door for the undrafted Mike Hilton, who only arrived in Pittsburgh in December after brief stints with the Jaguars and New England Patriots.
Hilton had the best game of his young career Sunday with four solo tackles (including one for a loss), a sack and the game-clinching interception of Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco on a pass tipped by linebacker Ryan Shazier. That set up the Steelers' final scoring drive—a one-yard run by Bell—and cut off Baltimore's mounting momentum.
Hilton had a strong showing during training camp and the preseason, but even then the slot cornerback job was not guaranteed to be his simply because of the competition. However, luck, timing and talent all lined up for Hilton, earning him the job and the chance to be one of the Steelers' biggest game-changers of Week 4.
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Loser: LB James Harrison
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When the Steelers selected outside linebacker T.J. Watt with their first-round pick in the 2017 draft, it was clear the veteran most affected would be 39-year old James Harrison, given that another recent Round 1 pick, Bud Dupree, had established himself as the Steelers' starter on the left. What wasn't known was just how much Harrison's standing would be impacted. Now, through four games, we're getting an idea.
Prior to Week 4, Harrison had been active for all three of the Steelers' games, but his playing time was negligible with just four defensive snaps in Week 1 and another three in Week 3. Not even injuries to Dupree or Watt could get him on the field for any appreciable amount of time. When Dupree missed Week 1 with a shoulder injury, Anthony Chickillo got the nod, and Chickillo again was the starter a week ago when Watt was sidelined with a groin injury.
With Watt and Dupree both at 100 percent health Sunday, Harrison wasn't just a benchwarmer—he didn't even dress, having been placed on the inactives list. Though Harrison did spend time on the Steelers' injury report last week with an illness, as Steelers Depot's Matthew Marczi points out, others who were dealing with illnesses were active in Baltimore.
Beyond the value Harrison presents as veteran depth, the Steelers don't much need him right now—and that's a good thing. Without Harrison, the Steelers are still rushing the passer at a high rate, as their 15 combined sacks rank second in the league. The defense as a whole also ranks second in both points and yards allowed per game.
Harrison isn't quite pleased about these developments, only saying of his apparent demotion, "I'm just doing what I'm asked." But that doesn't mean this is a permanent state of affairs for the linebacker. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said after Week 2: "There will be a time in the season where we'll call on [Harrison's] services, and he'll deliver and he'll deliver in a big way. Much like he did in the latter part of 2016."
Harrison is on the shelf to stay fresh, but his healthy scratch Sunday indicates an era is coming to an end in Pittsburgh.
Winner: LB Ryan Shazier
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Injuries may have marred the first season of his Steelers career, but inside linebacker Ryan Shazier has continued to improve, coming into his own as one of the defense's most indispensable players. Against Baltimore, he was a standout on that side of the ball.
Shazier led the team with 11 tackles Sunday—10 of them solo (and one for a loss). He also defended three passes, intercepted Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco once and tipped another Flacco pass that became Mike Hilton's first career interception on the next Baltimore possession.
Further, Shazier led the Steelers defense in its complete shutdown of Baltimore's run game. The Ravens totaled 82 yards on 15 rushing attempts—and that number could have been as low as 32 yards had Baltimore running back Alex Collins not broken off a 50-yard run that led to the Ravens' only touchdown of the day.
Shazier's prowess as an all-over-the-field defender was on display Sunday. Though Pittsburgh's strong defensive showing was a team effort, there's no doubt Shazier's contributions made the biggest impact.
Loser: WR Eli Rogers
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Every week, Steelers receiver Eli Rogers' stock falls. It's not entirely a surprise; when the Steelers drafted JuJu Smith-Schuster in the second round this year, there was little chance the promising rookie—who plays over the middle (and all over the field) like Rogers—would sit for long or for any other reason than injury.
Thus, the writing has been on the wall since April, but it has become more legible through four weeks of the 2017 season. Rogers has gone from playing 65 percent of the team's offensive snaps in Week 1 to 50 percent in Week 2 and 32.8 percent in Week 3, when he didn't see a passing target against the Bears. He's had only six catches for 54 yards compared to 48 for 594 in 2016. And the Steelers' experiment with using him as their punt returner has mostly failed, as Rogers has returned eight for 46 yards.
In Week 4, Rogers was inactive, leapfrogged on the receiver pecking order by veteran Justin Hunter, who didn't suit up in Weeks 1 through 3. With Smith-Schuster a rising star who recorded his second career touchdown against Baltimore and Antonio Brown back to his punt returner role, there may be few chances for Rogers to play again this year barring injury.
Winner: DE Cam Heyward
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It was truly a collective defensive effort that limited the Ravens to nine points in Week 4. Beyond cornerback Mike Hilton's interception and sack and linebacker Ryan Shazier's myriad contributions, defensive end Cam Heyward was also a standout on that side of the ball.
Heyward recorded four tackles against Baltimore—three of which were for a loss. He also accounted for two of the four sacks on Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco as well as two more quarterback hits. Additionally, he forced and recovered a fumble by Ravens running back Alex Collins in the second quarter. The turnover led to Pittsburgh's first touchdown of the game, establishing a lead the team never relinquished. He, like Shazier, was also responsible for the Ravens' low rushing output.
It was a redemption of sorts for Heyward, who took on the burden after Pittsburgh's defense gave up 220 rushing yards to the Bears a week prior. This week, he was able to plug up the Ravens' ability to run, create a key turnover and give Flacco a hard time when dropping back to pass. It was an all-around defensive performance from Heyward at a time that both he and the Steelers needed it.
Loser: Penalty Issues Strike Again
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Through four games, the Steelers are the second-most penalized team in the league with 37 flags. Twice, they've had double-digit calls against them. Though that wasn't the case Sunday, it was yet another game in which the Steelers out-penalized their opponents. This time, the Steelers had eight penalties for 60 yards, compared to six penalties for 55 yards for the Ravens. Three were for false starts, and another three were illegal blocks.
While it has yet to cost them a game, this is still a development worth noting. A season ago, the Steelers had just 125 penalties. At 9.2 per game this year, the Steelers are on pace for 147 penalties. In 2016, only the Oakland Raiders had more than that at 155.
It is some comfort that Pittsburgh's opponents have been heavily flagged this season as well with 31 total penalties for 320 yards. But the Steelers still have a penalty problem they have not adequately addressed. Perhaps if Pittsburgh were 1-3 instead of 3-1, this issue would be more prominent on the team's radar.
Regardless, the Steelers continue to gift a high number of unnecessary yards to their opponents this season, something that is neither desirable nor apparently on track to end anytime soon.
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