PITTSBURGH -- It wasn’t all that long ago — late December in fact — the Steelers shut down the Patriots in a 17-10 win at Heinz Field that had plenty of people wondering if Tom Brady and company’s time had passed.
Turns out, that obituary had to be put on hold.
It also turned out to be one of the few high points for the Steelers in a season to forget. A week later, they had their own little pass interference issue in New Orleans in a loss to the Saints that sent Antonio Brown into a downward spiral that wound up with him getting traded to the Raiders.
That Steelers team wound up finishing a disappointing 9-6-1 and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2013. And now, with the upstart Browns becoming the chic pick to win the AFC North, some are ready to write a requiem for this team, as well.
But, much as it wasn’t the case for the Patriots last season, nor is it time to start shoveling dirt on the Steelers.
You’d better believe the Patriots will take the Steelers seriously this week considering their last loss — in a game that mattered — came on that December day last year at Heinz Field.
Steelers and Patriots to kick off the 2019 season. What better way for both teams to test the other? The defending Super Bowl champions against the last team to beat them.
As we’ve done in the past, DKPittsburghSports.com will offer Patriots fans a chance to catch up on what’s been going on with the Steelers, while Greg Bedard will do the same.
Here’s what you need to know:
Team harmony
The Steelers are without the aforementioned Brown and nobody misses him — at least off the field. That’s been especially true as he’s displayed his own personal brand of crazy for the world to see in Oakland. The mercurial receiver was a pain off the field, but he produced on it. That’s why the Steelers were willing to put up with so much silliness from him — until they weren’t. Brown’s gone and the Steelers are much happier in the locker room. They can replace his 104 catches from last season. And they can replicate his 1,297 yards. But they do have to find a way to replace 15 touchdowns in 15 games from a year ago, which won’t be easy? JuJu Smith-Schuster assumes the No. 1 receiver role. And there’s faith that newcomer Donte Moncrief and second-year pro James Washington can do enough to keep defenses honest opposite Smith-Schuster. But the emergence of tight end Vance McDonald could be the key. McDonald is the most athletic tight end the Steelers have had in the past decade. He had 50 catches last season and should see that total rise, despite offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner’s insistence McDonald won’t be a full-time player. For the Steelers, they’re willing to try to make something else work since things became untenable with Brown.
This team is faster in the middle of the field
The book on the 2018 Steelers was to throw on them when they played their base 3-4 or nickel defense and run on them when they went to their dime. That was because the team had little to no speed in the middle of the field at the linebacker position with Vince Williams and Jon Bostic. The Steelers played their base defense 30 percent of the time last season, which was the 8th-highest total in the league. And they were in the dime 36 percent of the time, which was 3rd-highest. The nickel? They played that just 33 percent of the time, which ranked 30th in the league. But with the additions of Mark Barron in free agency and Devin Bush in the draft, the Steelers feel they now have the speed and run-stopping ability to play much more nickel this season.
In Ben they trust
Ben Roethlisberger took a lot of heat nationally for everything that transpired with Brown. But a lot of that criticism was unfair and driven by Brown’s people. The Steelers certainly felt that way. They not only traded away the game’s best receiver, they then doubled down on Roethlisberger, giving him a contract extension that will keep him with the team through 2021. Roethlisberger led the NFL in passing yards last season, as the Steelers threw the ball 67 percent of the time. That also led to some turnovers, with Roethlisberger also leading the league with 16 interceptions. The Steelers do want to scale that percentage back, but they won’t have Roethlisberger back off from some of the chances he takes. His interception percent, despite his league-high interceptions, was 2.4 percent, which middle of the pack. But 10 of those interceptions came on passes intended for Brown. There’s a feeling that since Roethlisberger won’t feel inclined to force the ball to the squeaky wheel, he’ll spread it around a little more and cut down on the turnovers.
Lean on the lines
The strength of this team is up front, both offensively and defensively. The Steelers have one of the best offensive lines in the league, especially in terms of pass blocking. And the defensive line of ends Cameron Heyward, Stephon Tuitt and nose tackle Javon Hargrave is a handful for any opponent. In fact, it might be the best combination of 300 pounders in the league, with 15 combined Pro Bowl trips scattered among their eight starters on the offensive and defensive lines. Center Maurkice Pouncey and right guard David DeCastro are the two best players, but left tackle Alejandro Villanueva is coming off his best season. The “newcomer” on the line is right tackle Matt Feiler, but he made 10 starts last season, including the win over the Patriots.
Turning up the heat
The Steelers have led the league in sacks in each of the past two seasons and they might be primed to do so again in 2019. After recording 55 sacks in 2017 and 52 in 2018, the Steelers had 20 sacks in four preseason games. And they came from all over the place. But the Steelers also know the key to beating Brady is to pressure him up the middle. That’s where Heyward, Tuitt and Hargrave will be coming from. Heyward and Tuitt both hit Brady twice each in the win last season, but the real pressure came from outside linebacker T.J. Watt. Watt hit Brady three times and sacked him once. Watt had a team-high 13 sacks last season and his athleticism is a problem for many teams.
How the Patriots should play the Steelers (offensively): Get the ball out quickly, which shouldn’t be a problem for Brady. That means a lot of passes to James White to see how Bush holds up in coverage. They can’t afford to get into second- and third-and-long situations, because the Steelers will turn up the pressure. That means the Patriots have to get positive yardage when they do run the ball. The Steelers have traditionally had some issues with stretch zone runs because of their attacking style of play. Can the Patriots test the perimeter with some of that to soften the Steelers up? Covering tight ends was an issue for the Steelers in 2018, as well. But second-year strong safety Terrell Edmunds looks like he might be the answer to shutting that down.
How the Patriots should play the Steelers (defensively): The Patriots, and everyone else this season, are expected to double Smith-Schuster when he’s on the outside. Can they do so when he’s in the slot or in a bunch formation? The Patriots have to make one of the other Steelers receivers beat them. They were intent on doubling both Brown and Smith-Schuster last season, almost daring the Steelers to run the ball. That nearly worked, as Brown had four catches for 49 yards and Smith-Schuster had four for 40. But backup running back Jaylen Samuels ran all over the Patriots to the tune of 142 yards on 19 carries. That was the first 100-yard game of Samuels’ career, high school and college included. James Conner will present a different kind of runner. He’s much stronger running downhill and can hurt the Patriots if they don’t dedicate a safety in the box to help out. With Brown gone, slow down Smith-Schuster and Conner and the Steelers should struggle.
Both teams have had their issues playing well early in seasons. That is, in part, because they typically have so little turnover on their coaching staffs. Opponents know what to expect. But that could be different this year as the Steelers adjust to life without Brown and the Patriots do the same to living without Rob Gronkowski.
It should be a wicked fun opener and a good early season test for what should be two of the AFC’s best teams once again.