Hopefully, Steeler fans won’t see Ziggy Ansah celebrating too much tonight.

The Steelers on Sunday night will return to the scene of their Super Bowl XL triumph when they take on the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. The Steelers will try to increase their two game lead in the AFC North, while the Lions are coming off their bye week and will try to snap their two game losing streak and keep pace in the suddenly wide open NFC North.

Here is my analysis on the Pittsburgh Steelers Week 8 opponent, the Detroit Lions.

Offense

Matthew Stafford, who has started 102 straight games for the Lions, has not quite discovered the same magic that he did in 2016 due to hamstring and ankle injuries. A preseason injury to starting left tackle Tyler Decker (shoulder) has not helped matters and his replacement, 2014 second overall draft pick Greg Robinson, has struggled. Robinson is dealing with an ankle injury and is also out for Sunday’s game. Enter former Steelers reserve Brian Mihalik who will have the task of blocking T.J . Watt.

Since the Lions are ranked 26th in the league in rushing (84 yards per game), the game plan for the Lions will be to rely on Stafford to find athletic tight ends Eric Ebron and Daniel Fells to get mismatches on linebackers and safeties downfield. There is good news on the injury front, however.  Golden Tate, who has been recovering from a shoulder injury, is expected to play on Sunday so Stafford will have his full complement of receivers. Theo Riddick (23 catches) will also be a factor out of the backfield.

Defense

One defense they have cornerstone pieces at critical positions in defensive end Ziggy Ansah and cornerback Darius Slay.  The defense leads the league in takeaways with 14. Ansah has four sacks, but three were in one game against the New York Giants. Ansah needed the bye to rest his knee as he has been limited in practice all season long.

The Lions have been mostly solid against the run, not withstanding the 193 yards the gave up against the Saints before their bye week, so their game plan will to be to concentrate on stopping Le’Veon Bell and have Slay shadow Antonio Brown in man coverage. The Lions will need to force at least a couple of turnovers to win this game so getting Ben Roethlisberger to jam a few throws to a ball hawking secondary will be a main focal point as well. A rising star to look out for is DT A’Shawn Robinson. The second-year pro out of Alabama is not only turning into a solid run stopper, but he has ten passes defensed at the line of scrimmage since he came into the league.

Special Teams Notes

• Rookie Jamal Agnew has two punt return touchdowns and a 23.7 yards per return average.
• Matt Prater is 10 for 12 on field goals this season featuring made field goals of 55, 57 and two from 58 yards.

Prediction

The Steelers have to feel good after two big wins in the conference and want to keep their momentum going into their bye week. The Steelers will take advantage of a weak Detroit offensive line and harass Stafford all night long.  If they can get a couple of turnovers to give Ben and company a short field and that will make a difference. Steelers win 27-20.

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On Saturday at Heinz Field, the Pittsburgh Panthers turned in their most impressive team effort of the season when they defeated the Virginia Cavaliers by the score of 31-14.  It was their second straight game and kept their bowl hopes afloat. The Panthers had 111 yards from Darrin Hall, a 75 yard punt return for a touchdown and held the Cavaliers to 14 points, which is the second best effort of the season.  The Panthers did so by controlling the line of scrimmage, especially in critical game situations. This was also their best win in terms of the quality of their opponent with Virginia coming into yesterday’s game at 5-2.

Here are some takeaways and observations from Saturday’s win at home vs. Virginia.

Offense

The Panthers were efficient on offense with good QB play from Ben DiNucci, especially on their first two scoring drives when he made completions of 16 yards to Qadree Ellison and to Rafael Araujo-Lopes for 18 yards for first downs.
On the next scoring drive he completed a 32 yard pass to Michael Ffrench before his 19 yard touchdown pass to Jester Weah.  Weah’s TD was an impressive individual effort, as he made a spin and broke two tackles on his way to the end zone. DiNucci isn’t putting up the numbers that Pitt fans crave, but he is making the plays to keep drives alive and the offense in rhythm.

As for the running game Hall had another solid game with 111 yards on 25 carries and a touchdown. Ellison added 47 yards on 6 carries and also scored a touchdown. The Panthers now seem to have found their best formula to be successful on offense: Strong running game and efficient quarterback play with limited mistakes.

Player of the game: Hall

It’s safe to say that the Youngstown native is now the focal point of the offense with his ability to make big plays, as he showed last week, and he can make the power runs as well as evidenced on Saturday.

Defense

Pitt is quietly becoming a good defense with their play as they dominated the line of scrimmage for most of the game on Saturday. Pitt stopped the Cavaliers on 3rd down on three occasions on Saturday, including an opportunity for the Wahoos when they only needed a single yard on both third and fourth down at the Pitt 28 in the first quarter that set the tone for the rest of the game. The Panthers also had a goal line stand in the fourth quarter when Virginia had two chances at the one-yard line to score, but Pitt’s defense stood up and made the stop.

Player of the game: LB Saleem Brightwell

Brightwell had 10 tackles (7 solo) and a fumble recovery.

Up Next:

The Panthers will return to Heinz Field on Thursday, November 9th when they host the North Carolina Tar Heels.

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This is where the game will be won or lost.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals will do battle at Heinz field late Sunday Afternoon in a battle between two of the best defenses in the NFL. Both teams rank among the top five in the categories of total defense, pass defense, points allowed, and sacks. This is also a battle of two of the premier wide receivers in the league in Antonio Brown and A.J. Green. The Steelers knocked off the league’s last unbeaten team in the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday while the Bengals come off their bye after two straight wins over the Browns and Bills.

Here is some insight into the Steelers’ Week 7 opponent: The Cincinnati Bengals

Offense

Andy Dalton, in the three games since the firing of Ken Zampese, has recorded a 116.1 passer rating with seven touchdowns and only two interceptions. Dalton has had to rely heavily on Green due to injuries to All-Pro tight end Tyler Eifert (IR) as well as 2017 first round pick John Ross and former Clairton/Pitt standout Tyler Boyd. One player who has stepped up has been Tyler Kroft, Eifert’s backup. He’s made some big plays for the Bengals in their past two victories.

The Bengals are still trying to find consistency on their line after losing Andrew Whitworth (Rams) and Kevin Zeittler (Browns) to free agency last spring. The constant shuffling along the line has hampered running back Giovanni Bernard and rookie Joe Mixon in running the ball. The Bengals rank dead last in the league in rushing yards per game with a 82.0 yards/game average.

To combat this, new offensive coordinator Bill Lazor’s game plan is to try to use them in the passing game to get the backs in space against the Steeler linebackers. He’ll also try to move Green around in different formations to prevent the Steelers from rolling coverage towards him.

Defense

Paul Guenther’s defense is the strength of the team and he uses the talent and versatility of down lineman Geno Atkins, Carlos Dunlap, Michael Johnson, and Carl Lawson.

One example of their versatility is when they use Lawson as an outside linebacker in their base 4-3 scheme and then move him to end in their sub packages, moving Johnson to tackle. Guenther does not like to blitz that much, but his game plan is to roll coverage to Antonio Brown as well as concentrating on gap assignments to focus on neutralizing Le’Veon Bell.

The main players responsible for the latter will be two linebackers: Vontaze Burfict, the one who made the tackle to injure Bell’s knee two seasons ago, and leading tackler Nick Vigil. Both are fundamentally sound and disciplined in the running game. The Bengals will try to match up with Brown using three former first round picks with Dre Kirkpatrick, Darqueze Dennard and William Jackson.  They’ll try to mix and match and attempt to contain Brown, who only averages six catches for 85 yards in seven games against the Bengals while Guenther has been the coordinator.

Special Teams Notes

Antonio Brown has three returns for touchdowns on punts from the Bengals’ Kevin Huber.
Randy Bullock is 7 for 8 on field goals and 9 for 9 on extra points this season.
Alex Erickson leads the NFL in kickoff return average with a average of 26.3 yards per return.

Prediction

The Steelers and Bengals will have a classic AFC North, low scoring defensive game, with the team that makes the most critical mistake losing. History in this series will point to Andy Dalton and the Bengals making a turnover or another costly mistake that will make a difference on Sunday. Steelers 20, Bengals 17

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Jordan Whitehead and Darian Hall propelled the Panthers to their first ACC win.

Darrin Hall rushed for 254 yards and three touchdowns, including a go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter.  That helped lift the Pitt Panthers to their first conference win of the season by knocking off Duke 24-17 at Wallace Wade stadium on Saturday afternoon. Hall rushed for scores of 79, 92 and 4 yards, with the 92 yarder a school record. Jordan Whitehead sealed the win with an interception off a deflection with 1:34 to play in the game when Duke was going for a tying touchdown.

Ben DiNucci went 8 for 18 for 149 yards. This was the first game this season in which the Panthers played only one quarterback. The Panthers were down at one point 17-7, but scored 17 unanswered points by wearing down the Blue Devils with not only big plays in the running game but punishing runs, as well. The defense also stepped up in the fourth quarter with timely stops in the red zone.

Here are some takeaways and observations from Saturday’s win at Duke.

Offense

Besides the big plays by Hall, the Panthers did show some ability to sustain drives. On the day, the Panthers did go 8 for 18 on third down, a far better output than in any game that they had this season. Pitt amassed a season-high 485 yards of total offense, committed no turnovers and won the time of possession battle 39:27 to 20:33. With the personnel that the have presently this will probably be their blueprint on offense for the Panthers to be successful.

DiNucci may not had the best statistical day throwing the ball, but he made two critical throws to set up scores in the fourth quarter. One was the 49 yard completion to Jester Weah to set up the four yard run by Hall to put Pitt up 21-17. On the next drive he completed a strike to Rafael Araujo-Lopes to keep the drive alive to lead them to the field goal that put the Panthers up 24-17.

Player of the Game:
Clearly, this goes to Hall after his huge day. He all but sealed his spot as Pitt’s featured back.

Defense

The Panthers gave up plays early on in the game, but they held the Blue Devils to a drive that ended in a missed field goal and Whitehead’s interception at the end of the game.  Duke was 3 for 10 on third downs and the Blue Devils rushed for just 76 yards on 26 rushes (2.9 yards/carry). This was by far their best defensive performance of the season.

Player of the game:
Whitehead also led the team with 10 tackles (4 solo) as well as a pass defended.

Up Next:
The Panthers will return to Heinz Field next Saturday to face the Virginia Cavaliers.

The post Darrin Hall Runs Wild On Duke In Win For Pitt appeared first on The Point of Pittsburgh.

Rookie Kareem Hunt has been amazing and is the catalyst to the undefeated Chiefs
Photo by Getty

On late Sunday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Steelers will travel to Arrowhead Stadium to take on the NFL’s lone unbeaten team, the Kansas City Chiefs. It will be a rematch of last season’s AFC Divisional playoff matchup won by the Steelers 18-16. The Chiefs have the league’s top scoring offense averaging over 32 points per game, rank second in total yards and third in passing yards per game. The Steelers, however, have the NFL’s top ranked pass defense and third ranked overall defense as far as yards given up per game. This will be as a matchup of strength versus strength when the Chiefs on are offense.

Offense

The Chiefs explosive ball control offense has not committed a turnover since Kareem Hunt’s fumble on the very first offensive play from scrimmage of the season. Alex Smith has the league’s best completion percentage (76.6 percent) and has gone 158 passing attempts without throwing an interception.

The Chiefs will try to deploy their usual strategy of using different formations to keep Keith Butler’s defense off balance.  They’ll try to get the ball to Hunt, the NFL’s leading rusher, and Tyreek Hill in the open field who have combined for five plays of 50 plus yards this season. The Chiefs however, have given up 17 sacks already this season after only giving up 28 last season. The Chiefs also have lucky bounces with the football, as they recovered all six of their fumbles after the fumble in their season opener against the Patriots.

One player to keep an eye out for is Travis Kelce, who took a hit to the head in last weeks game against the Texans and left the game, but is expected to play. The presence of Kelce is important because the Kansas City wide receiving corps have a significant drop-off after Hill. The next leading wide out, Albert Wilson, has only 16 catches on the season and Chris Conley is on season ending IR with a torn Achilles tendon.

Defense

The Chiefs have not been quite as strong defensively this season, partly due to the loss of All Pro safety Eric Berry from an Achilles tear and cornerback Steven Nelson to a sports hernia. However, Justin Houston, despite battling injuries, seems to be rounding back into his 2014 All Pro form with 5 1/2 sacks so far this season and he will have his pass rushing partner in crime, Dee Ford, back after missing the last two games due to a back injury.

The Chiefs game plan on defense is to primarily stop Le’Veon Bell, who rushed for 170 yards in last season’s playoff game. They will also try to use Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus Peters to shadow Antonio Brown throughout the game. I would expect for the Steelers to try to maintain balance in this week’s game, unlike last week against the Jaguars when the pass to run ratio was 55 to 16. If the Steelers maintain balance on offense they may be able to make big plays in the passing game.

Bob Sutton’s defense has given up seven plays of 40 or more yards, which is the most in the NFL. Moreover they are only 20th in the league in rushing defense, so the Steelers will have opportunities to move the ball against the Chiefs. It is just a matter of converting touchdowns instead of field goals, unlike in January’s playoff game.

Special Teams Notes

Hill leads the NFL in punt return average (12.5).
Dustin Colquitt ranks next to last in net punt return average with (37.6).
Harrison Butker has made seven straight field goals after missing his first career attempt.

Prediction

The Steelers will have a more inspired effort against the Chiefs, however they have not truly been tested defensively this season like they will on Sunday. I feel that the Steelers will make their share of plays, but the Chiefs will bend but not necessarily break. This is not only a payback game for the Chiefs, but a chance to make a statement that they are the top dog in the AFC in 2017. Kareem Hunt will make the key run to put the game away in the fourth quarter for the home team. Chiefs will hold off the Steelers 28-20.

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Nyheim Hines was a thorn in Pitt’s side all day.
Photo by Keith Srakocic/AP

The North Carolina State Wolfpack, behind big scoring plays from Nyheim Hines and Jaylen Samuel, pulled away from the Pitt Panthers for their sixth consecutive victory on Saturday afternoon at Heinz Field by the score of 35-17. Hines scored on an 83 yard touchdown run and a 92 yard punt return. Samuel scored two rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter including a back breaking 40 yard run. In the game, the Panthers used both starter Ben DiNucci and true freshman Kenny Pickett in the game as a pre-planned decision. At 2-5 the Panthers must go at least 4-1 to extend their nine year streak of going to bowl games.

Here are sone takeaways and observations from Saturday’s loss on Homecoming at Heinz Field.

Offense

The Panthers had a pre-planned strategy to play Pickett in a game where DiNucci was not playing poorly and they were only down 21-14 in the third quarter. I can see why they wanted to give the true freshman a chance but coach Narduzzi’s timing could have been a little better even though the previous two possessions resulted in an interception and a three and out. Pickett went 5 of 13 for 61 yards and he and Jordan Whitehead each had 18 yards rushing to lead the team.

The problem is that one guy plays quarterback and one guy plays safety. The rushing leaders among the true running backs were Darren Hall, who scored a one yard touchdown in the second quarter to tie the game at 14, and Quadree Ellison each had 17 yards apiece for the Panthers. When you are rushing for 3.0 yards a carry with suspect quarterback play that does not seem like a successful recipe for your offense.

Defense

The defense gave up the big run by Hines, as well as a big run by Samuel late that sealed the game, but in my opinion the Panthers played their best defensive game in weeks on Saturday against the Wolfpack. They held one of the conference’s leading passers in Ryan Finley to only 198 yards and one touchdown pass.  That is a solid feat and you can see that their pass defense is improving.

However, they gave up too many big plays on the ground due to not being disciplined in their assignments. One example is on Hines’ big run, Damar Hamlin took a bad route instead of staying in the middle of the field to be in better position to make a stop on the ball carrier.

Thoughts

At 2-5, Narduzzi should use the opportunity to take a look at both DiNucci and Pickett to see what they have for 2018.  Pitt will most likely have a new offensive coordinator. The current OC, Shawn Wilson, has not produced much on offense.  Whether it is a lack of talent or questionable play calling, such as the option play that they ran on 4th and 10 at the Wolfpack 42 down 28-17 in the fourth quarter, is up for debate. I understand that if Narduzzi makes a change then he will have had a different offensive coordinator in each of his four seasons, but coach should evaluate his whole offensive philosophy from the players all the way up to the staff.

Up Next

The Panthers will again try to get their first conference win when they travel to Durham to take on the Duke Blue Devils next Saturday.

The post Wolfpack Grind Out 35-17 Win At Pitt appeared first on The Point of Pittsburgh.

Blake Bortles will attempt to lead the Jags to a win over the Steelers today.
Photo via SI.com

The AFC North leading Pittsburgh Steelers will play host to their former AFC Central rivals, the Jacksonville Jaguars, on Sunday afternoon at Heinz Field. On Sunday the top two pass defenses in the NFL square off as the Jaguars rank first in the NFL, allowing only 147 yards per game and the Steelers rank second only giving up an average of 154 yards per game. Sunday’s game seems to be a game that will come down to the legs of Leonard Fournette and Le’Veon Bell in a matchup of two of the league’s top ten rushers.

Offense

Blake Bortles at this point of his career is the true definition of a hot and cold quarterback. Here is a barometer of the Jags success based on how he plays. When Bortles throws for 200 yards and does not commit a turnover the Jaguars are 2-0, when Bortles does commit a turnover and throws less than 200 yards the Jaguars are 0-2. The Jaguars are without their top wide receiver Allen Robinson, who is out for the season with a torn ACL, but still have solid weapons in Marquise Lee (16 catches), Allen Hurns (13 catches), and Fournette (12 catches) coming out of the backfield.

The game plan on offense for the Jaguars is to set the tone in the running game with Fournette and former Jets and Saints running back Chris Ivory, who is averaging 3.9 yards per carry, which is actually higher than Fournette’s 3.4 YPC. Another point of emphasis is to continue the trend of getting points on their opening drive, which they have done in every game thus far in the 2017 season. The Jaguars are not a team, save for the game in London against the Ravens, that will score in bunches so getting an early lead and keeping to their run first game plan will be important against a team with the firepower of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Defense

The Jaguars have invested a substantial amount of money in their defense over the past few seasons, by bringing in free agents such as defensive tackle Malik Jackson, defensive end Calias Campbell, safeties Barry Church and Tashaun Gibson, and CB A.J. Bouye.  They’ve also drafted DE Donte Fowler, LB Miles Jack and CB Jalen Ramsey. The results have been mixed so far in 2017. While the Jaguars rank on top of the NFL against the pass and lead the lead the league in sacks as a team with 18, the Jaguars rank dead last in the league in rushing yards allowed and yards per rush. The Jags last week allowed runs of 75, 66 and 33 yards in their loss against the New York Jets.

What the Jaguars will want to do on defense is put pressure on Ben Roethlisberger using their down lineman without having to blitz.  That would enable them to use their back seven to scheme and control Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant (if he plays) and Bell in the passing game. Both Miles Jack and Paul Posluszny are two of the more instinctive and sure tackling linebackers in the league. However, the Jaguars are susceptible to allowing wide running lanes, as seen last week in New York and in Week 2 against the Tennessee Titans.  Bell’s patience in the backfield could pay off on two or three potential plays during this particular game.

Prediction

The Jaguars proved last week that they are not ready to handle prosperity and that they will play to the level of their competition, as is the case of most young teams. That being said, they will get up for the Steelers at Heinz Field on Sunday to use as a measuring stick. However, the Steelers are the better team at this point and they will use the legs of Le’Veon Bell and a defense that will force a couple of timely turnovers to overcome the Jaguars as they pull away in a mostly competitive game.  Steelers win 24-14.

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Eric Dungey had his way, with some help, against the Panthers.
Photo by Rich Barnes/USA Today Sports

The Syracuse Orange led by Eric Dungey’s 365 passing yards and three total touchdowns held off a late comeback charge by the Pittsburgh Panthers to get their first conference win of the season by the score of 27-24 on Saturday afternoon at the carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY. Pitt had previously won 11 of the past 12 meetings between the two schools and haven’t lost to the Orange since both schools joined the ACC in 2013.

Max Browne went 15 for 22 with 161 yards, but left the game in the third quarter due to an arm injury. Ben DiNucci took over and finished 6 for 10 for 55 yards in relief for the Panthers. At 2-4, the Panthers chances at a bowl game took a major hit with three games still to come against ranked conference opponents on the schedule.
Here are some takeaways and observations from Saturday’s loss to Syracuse.

Offense

The Panthers totaled 358 total yards but struggled to consistently move the ball on the Orange as their third down woes continue. The Panthers did not convert a third down until 8:40 left in the fourth quarter during their final scoring drive.

The Panthers were 3 for 13 overall on third down, with all the conversions that took place on that drive. The Panthers quarterback play looked as it has the majority of the season — not enough big plays and not efficient enough even though the numbers on paper did not look that bad.

The running game, besides from a 35 yard TD run from Jordan Whitehead and a 19 yard run by Quadree Ellison for a score, was not effective at all. Without those two scoring plays Pitt averaged 3.08 yards per rush on Saturday.

Offensive Player of the game: Rafael Araujo-Lopes
Lopes caught seven passes for 100 yards on Saturday.

Defense

The Panthers allowed 500 yards of total offense to the Orange on Saturday, which was bad, but even worse was the undisciplined play with major penalties that contributed to touchdown drives for the Orange. One was an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that contributed to a score that tied the game before halftime.  The second was a roughing the passer penalty on a 3rd and 10 to extend the drive in the third quarter that led to a Dungey touchdown run to allow Syracuse to take the lead that they would not relinquish.

The Orange ran 91 plays, recorded 26 first downs and controlled the ball for 34 minutes and 42 seconds on Saturday and the Panthers were on their heels all afternoon and the lack of discipline did not help.

Defensive Player of the game: Oluwaseun Idowu
Idowu had nine tackles (five solo) and two sacks on Saturday.

One Other Note
Alex Kessman made a 56 yard field goal which is a Carrier Dome record.

Up Next
The Panthers will come back to Heinz Field of Saturday to host the North Carolina State Wolfpack.

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Enemy Intel: Baltimore Ravens

In the AFC North’s most heated rivalry, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens will look to bounce back from embarrassing losses last week on Sunday afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, MD. The Steelers were shocked by the Chicago Bears on Sunday, 23-17 in overtime, while the Ravens were walloped 44-7 in London by the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Steelers have not won in Baltimore since 2012 and Ben Roethlisberger has not won a start in the Charm City since the 2010 season. So lets look into this week’s matchup.

Offense

Joe Flacco has not launched off the tarmac yet this year, after recovering from a back injury in training camp. As a matter of fact, Flacco had his worst game of his career on Sunday against the Jaguars as he threw for just 28 yards, two interceptions and a robust 12.0 passer rating. In the first three games, Flacco has had only three completions of 20 or more yards, a 65 passer rating and 5.3 yards per attempt. All categories are lowest in the league.

As for the running game, Terrence West, Javorius Allen and Alex Collins spearhead a running back by committee approach to Baltimore’s attack with effective results. All three have rushed for over 100 yards on the season on the way to the fifth ranked rushing attack on the young season. Look for the Ravens to use the same approach that the Bears used last Sunday when they used the outside stretch play to the tune of 220 rushing yards. If successful, the Ravens could finally open up a play action passing attack for Flacco to hit former Steeler Mike Wallace and Jeremy Maclin.

Part of Flacco’s issues may be attributed to the loss of a All-Pro guard Marshall Yanda, who was instrumental to giving him a clean pocket to let his speedy receivers to get separation and for Flacco to throw his patented deep ball.

Defense

The Baltimore defense got shredded last week by the Jaguars in the running game and the passing game. Blake Bortles threw for four touchdowns and the Jaguars had 166 yards rushing last Sunday. This came after the first two games when the Ravens forced as many turnovers as they had points allowed (10). Newcomers Brandon Carr, Tony Jefferson and rookie Marlon Humphries were acquired to improve the secondary and so far the results have been mixed on the season.

The modus operandi is the same for the Ravens when they play the Steelers: Stop Le’Veon Bell and hit Ben Roethlisberger as much as possible. Roethisberger has been sacked 52 times in his career against the Ravens, with 17 1/2 at the hands of 2011 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Terrell Suggs.

As for Bell, he is averaging 108 yards from scrimmage and has scored five touchdowns (three rushing) in seven career games against the Ravens. What will complicate the Ravens game plan is that they will be without their big nose tackle Brandon Williams (foot) for Sunday’s game as well as defensive end Brent Urban, who has been put on IR with a Lisfranc injury in his foot.

One X-factor that the Steelers have is tight end Jesse James. The Ravens gave up three touchdowns to the Jaguars Mercedes Lewis and with the attention being paid to Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant, James could see good opportunities, especially in the red zone on Sunday.

Prediction

Both teams are reeling from last week, but Baltimore is suffering from a few more critical injuries, especially on defense. Perhaps that can maybe get Bell out of his early season slump.  If he can help the Steelers control the game late in the fourth quarter in their four minute offense, that will be the difference.  I’m picking the Steelers to beat the Ravens 20-17.

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Georgia Tech ran roughshod over Pitt all day long on Saturday.
Photo: John Hwang

KirVonte Benson, TaQuon Marshall and the rest of The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets racked up 436 yards on the ground as they steamrolled the Pittsburgh Panthers 35-17 on Saturday in each team’s conference opener. The Ramblin’ Wreck held the ball for 35 minutes, while the Panthers were 1 for 13 on third down conversions as Coach Pat Narduzzi switched quarterbacks again by going back to Max Browne in the fourth quarter after starting Ben DiNucci.

How here are some takeaways and observations form Saturday’s game.

Offense

Well, the quarterback controversy still has not been solved as Narduzzi benched his starting quarterback for the second consecutive week. The decision to start DiNucci looked good on the opening drive as the Panthers went on a five play, 78 yard drive that ended in a Qadree Ollison’s 28 yard touchdown reception to take the early 7-0 lead. However, the Panthers’ offense could not take advantage of four fumbles by Tech that left the Panthers in excellent field position.

Fumble #1: Drive started at GT 34: four plays, one yard. Result: missed field goal.
Fumble #2: Drive Started at Pitt 46: three plays, four yards. Result: punt.
Fumble #3: Drive Started at Pitt 47: three plays, -15 yards. Result: punt.
Fumble #4: Drive started at the Pitt 6: three plays, four yards. Result: punt.

These opportunities were wasted because they had no presence of a running game, with Pitt running for 37 yards on 20 carries for a 1.9 yards per rush.  That’s including a 30 yard run on a sweep by Jordan Whitehead on the first drive of the game. Browne went 10 for 15 for 88 yards, which were mostly short throws, as the Yellow Jackets were playing prevent defense in the fourth quarter. Narduzzi pretty much echoed the same approach as last week after the game with regards the quarterback controversy. Narduzzi said that he will take on the “status quo” approach on his quarterbacks “and find out who has the best week of practice and who gives us the best chance to win a football game.”

Defense

The defense struggled with the Triple Option Offense all day long and the only way that they were able to stop Tech is when they fumbled the ball. Benson ran for 196 yards and two touchdowns and Marshall ran for 112 yards and two touchdowns. The main play that gave the young Panthers defense fits was when Georgia Tech used the fullback dive with Benson.  This allowed the home team to control the clock.

Narduzzi knew that they needed more offensive production to help out his young defense.  The defense, though, needed to be fundamentally sound and disciplined to have a chance because of Georgia Tech’s style of play.

”It’s a little bit of everything, guys missing tackles,” said Coach Narduzzi. ”They can run the ball, especially if you give them 10 more minutes.”

Special teams

The best phase of the Panthers on Saturday by far was their special teams. Quadree Henderson ran back a 88 yard punt return and Alex Kessman made a 55 yard field goal to end the half. The big special teams play, as well as the fumbles by Georgia Tech were reasons why this game was as competitive for as long as it was.

Up Next

Pitt will return to Heinz Field on Saturday to take on the Rice Owls in their final non-conference game of the season.

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