During their Week 11 loss to the Cleveland Browns, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ pass rush was frustrated without the speed with which Cleveland was able to get the ball out of rookie quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s hands.
In the 13-10 loss to the Browns, Pittsburgh’s pass rush gave T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Cameron Heyward, among others, failed to make much of an impression on defense.
Watt had a sack in the fourth quarter, but that was really all the pass rush produced in the loss. In fact, Thompson-Robinson averaged 2.15 seconds to throw.
That short amount of time between the snap and the throw makes it nearly impossible for the pass rush to get home.
Pittsburgh could also see the same thing on Sunday in Week 12 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Watt has certainly been frustrated with Pittsburgh’s inability to defend 5-yard throws against Cleveland throughout the season, so the defense will have to adapt this week as Cincinnati’s Jake Browning makes his first NFL start.
For defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, the players and coach have full confidence that they know what needs to be done to prepare for fast throws in the future.
“This is what we do. I think our guys are well coached and understand that every pass is not a banquet, as Mike [Tomlin] would say.
You’re not all going to eat and grab a bag, so what’s the best plan of action for us for this particular piece? Austin said Thursday, according to the team’s official transcript.
“I think our guys are very good at this.
“They know when they have the opportunity to run and come home, and they know when the ball comes out quick to get their hands up and impact the game in a different way.”
Austin’s comments echoed those made by Heyward on Wednesday in which he said the Steelers need to do a better job of putting their hands up when passing lanes at the line of scrimmage, getting some batted passes.
The Steelers also need to do a better job of forcing opposing offenses into longer down and yardage situations, allowing the pass rush to chase things.
Pittsburgh too often was unable to do that against the Browns. Ultimately, this allowed the Browns to drip and dunk the ball down the field, especially on the final drive of the game, leading to the game-winning field goal.
Sunday in Cincinnati will be more of the same. Pittsburgh will have to be better prepared.
That includes Watt, who has a history of making passes at the line of scrimmage and even making passes at the line, not to mention Heyward, who throws passes at the line of scrimmage with the best of them.
The Steelers say they know how to handle fastballs. Now it’s about execution in the game.
