1) Don’t help Mahomes “Mahomes” you
You’ve got one of the top-two interior defenders, the best edge rusher, and the best center-fielder in the NFL in Cam Heyward, TJ Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick. On paper, that three-headed monster should give you a puncher’s chance to hang with any team in this league.
Pat Mahomes is different. He doesn’t conform to the rules of the sport, or physics. Push the pocket on Patrick and he’ll pirouette right out of it. If you blitz him, he only becomes stronger. He’s the best the world has ever seen at looking defenders off his targets; hell, he doesn’t even need to be looking where he throws!
Scary stuff, especially considering how comfortable he looked while dismantling the Steelers when last they met, lo those three weeks ago. So what’s the plan of attack?
First and foremost, don’t put more bullets in their gun. Ben loves those RPO crossers, but surely the Chiefs are aware of that as well. If the Steelers give the Chiefs even one extra possession with a turnover, the playing field gets a lot steeper.
Defensively, look for the “mush rush.” This is a concept in which penetration takes a back seat to containment: the edge rushers are careful to sacrifice containment by over-pursuing while the inside guys control rushing lanes.
Instead of traditional “half-man” pass rush sets, look for “two-gapping” on the interior: defenders lining up head-on with offensive lineman so they can control the block with their eyes in the backfield, then shed the block to make a tackle to either their left or right. It’s a bit of a lost art in today’s NFL, but Isaiahh Loudermilk is one of the better two-tappers on this team. Watch for #92.
2) King of the “Hill”
Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill has sub-4.3 40 speed, and the Steelers defense, well, doesn’t. Joe Haden is by all accounts a fantastic leader, he’s easily my favorite former-Brown and I’ll forever love him for this:
God bless the guy, but he can’t run anymore; even the famously-hapless Gilligan could escape “Haden Island.” So who’s the next man up?
Ahkello Witherspoon is a guy they brought in before the season for depth, but he’s a RAS-ier (Relative Athletic Score) corner who should be more able to run with the Hills, Diggs and Chases of the world.
After a slow start, Witherspoon came on strong down the stretch with 3 INT’s and 7 PBU’s in his last 5 games. He’s made some sensational plays under-cutting routes, but Mahomes’ eyes are harder to read than Kirk Cousins’.
Do you throw him out there and ask him to play one-on-one with Hill? Absolutely not, that’s not a one-man job. He’ll probably have Minkah’s help over the top, freeing him up to pounce on those intermediate routes.
3) “Kelce” about that
The Steelers have been rather successful at quieting the impact of the opponents most dangerous offensive weapons this year. That’ll be a stout task today, as the Chiefs have two guys who can wreck your gameplan.
Travis Kelce is one of the best over the middle, an area of the field the Steelers have struggled mightily in recent history. So what has to happen to keep Kelce from running wild through the heart of this defense?
It starts with the MLB’s, particularly Devin Bush. He’s been a bit of a lightning rod this year; while some of that criticism is warranted, he’s consistently dealing with climbing offensive linemen because the Steelers’ defensive trenches have been decimated. Fans have wanted him to play more downhill, but that’s never been what he does.
As the off-ball ILB he’s playing the primary coverage role over the middle. He has supreme ball skills for a MLB; he could make Mahomes pay for getting too cocky with those no-look balls.
Another name to keep in mind here is Witherspoon. In addition to his athleticism, he’s also quite long (meaning height/wingspan) for a corner. You need wings like that to take on the 6’5” Kelce.
4) “That’s my Quarterback”
Steeler Nation rejoiced yesterday when Juju Smith-Schuster was activated from what we believed was a season-ending shoulder injury he sustained on a jet sweep against the Broncos in Week 5.
We’ll see how much a factor conditioning and rustiness play in his contributions, but having #19 out there – even on a pitch count – should prove massive for Roethlisberger, who has sorely missed his third down safety blanket.
The aspect of Juju’s game this team missed most, however, is his run blocking. Diontae and (more so, of late) Claypool show effort in that arena, but neither of those guys are going to knock Vontaze Burfict on his butt. Having Juju out there will be big for Ben, but it’s huge for Najee.
Steely Cam 