Monday, November 27, 2017

Packers Surprise in Pittsburgh, Lose on Last Second FG, 31-28

That was an entertaining game! The Green Bay Packers had gotten overwhelmed at home in two of their prior three games (vs. Lions and Ravens) and have lost five of their last six (all the games finished by QB Brett Hundley) so I wasn't expecting much against the Steelers in Pittsburgh, but the Packers proved me wrong.
Despite a great game in Pittsburgh, I'm at the same place I was on Hundley after last week. He's a next generation Matt Flynn, a backup who can catch fire one week and become a disaster the following week. He looked much better against the Steelers than the Ravens mostly because he had good protection, and the Steelers have some serious issues in coverage (allowing deep touchdown passes to Davante Adams and Randall Cobb). Once the Steelers dialed up the pressure and forced him to do something outside of the pocket, it usually ended in an incompletion or a sack. He's still limited, but on Sunday night he did more than enough to win them the game.

All that time to throw means that the offensive line deserves credit for providing the clean pocket that led to some big plays, and a special mention for Jason Spriggs, who got the unexpected start at right tackle and probably his best game as a pro. There are still issues on the line but this was a big game for them. Hundley is only going to be as good as they are.

Also, rookie RB Jamal Williams ran hard and made some moves in the open field on his long receiving touchdown. His yards per carry isn't impressive (3.1 ypc) but the Steelers brought DBs up later in the game to take away his running lanes and stop the run. It's hard to run when their are defenders running unblocked at you in the backfield.
The defense forced three turnovers, those turnovers along with the big plays on offense kept the Packers in this game. But when the Steelers weren't turning the ball over, they were doing pretty much whatever they wanted to against the Packers D. Rookie CB Kevin King is far from a complete player, but he's their best cover corner and missed much of the game with a shoulder injury. In his place, CB Josh Hawkins and CB Davon House got roasted, mostly by WR Antonio Brown. While Brown is arguable the best player in the NFL, the Packers gave their corners safety help on seemingly every play against Brown and he still torched them.

The biggest problem was that the Packers pass rush was completely useless. Their only sack was due to tight coverage, and Roethlisberger held the ball for about 5 seconds in the pocket before DT Mike Daniels finally got to him. They gave him a clean pocket most of the night. OLB Clay Matthews was hurt and didn't play but his best pass rushing days are behind him anyway. He wouldn't have helped much on the rush, but DT Kenny Clark is probably their best player on defense this season and he also missed this game. Having his strength and energy at the line would have made a difference.

Eventually the run defense wore out, they were on the field almost the entire first half, and the tackling got sloppy, leading to a big 4th quarter for Le'Veon Bell. But to their credit, they were solid in the first half and into the 3rd quarter.

After last week's embarrassing loss to the Ravens, it has to feel good to have shown up for a road game against one of the best teams in the AFC. I'd still like them to stay competitive this season and finish with 8 wins, and this loss is a good place to start. I hate moral victories, but it's been so bad at times this season that they need to take them when they find them. In their upcoming games, they have to follow the same blueprint they followed against the Steelers; win the turnover battle, don't get away from the ground game, keep looking for those deep sideline passes, and hopefully get Kenny Clark back soon.
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