Week 10 vs CAR...***TNF***

[ATL96Steeler]

The Steelers come into week 10 on a 4 game win streak including division wins over CIN & BAL and it’s changed the outlook of the team considerably. At 5-2-1 the Steelers lead CIN by a game in the loss column and sit atop the AFCN. While the Patriots and KC dominate the top of the conference with high octane OFC, the Steelers are finding a pretty good balance of OFC and DEF support over this win streak giving up 17, 21, 18, and 16 points respectively over the last 4 games.

This game with CAR is the 3rd of 4 NFCS matchups this season. The Panthers come in playing some pretty good football themselves bringing a 6-2 record into Heinz Field. When it comes to scoring rankings, they are 11th on OFC, and 12th DEF. The Panthers have wins over both CIN and BAL and looking to make PIT their 3rd AFCN W.

This is an interesting matchup imo because The Panthers are one of the more unique OFC in the league. A blend of the read option with Cam as a keeper and pro style with Cam using a fair amount of playaction to go down field and he’s starting to develop a short passing game with the outstanding RB talent they have in Christian McCaffery.

Aside from McCaffery, the names may not wow you, but they’re getting good production from Devin Funchess and DJ Moore. His old standby security blanket is TE Greg Olsen…finally healthy.

Injury front

McCullers (ankle), Gilbert (knee) both questionable. James Washington (knee) Ryan Switzer (ankle) and Ben (finger) are probable.

Outlook

This may be a game that Bostic and VWill are counted on more. I actually like this matchup for PIT because they are not really a high powered passing OFC. The one big fear I have in this game are missed tackles on Cam if he breaks the pocket on scrambles against nickel/dime. McCaffery in space on LBs is a death wish…it will be curious to see how Butler defends this kid.

The Panthers are not a great off the edge pressure team, but they love to bring their LBs on the blitz inside and will occasionally bring CBs and S much like Butler. Kueghly is one of the best coverage LBs in the game. Even though they have a healthy amount of picks (means they probably played TB already…lol) they are not great in the secondary imo. Could be a tough day for running Connor inside with the two beasts DTs they have, but he should still be a factor, ATL and WAS both had good games on the ground against them.

27 – 20…Steelers

What say you?

 

[Yo Tee]

This is a frightening game for me. This Panthers' offense looks scary good. Trickery and misdirection and not to mention, Cam Newton is balling out right now. They have the 2nd best running attack in the league, yet we are 6th against the run. They have the 19th best passing game, but we are 21st against the pass. Carolina has had 100+ yards rushing in all but 1 game this year, our defense has only allowed 100+ rushing yards twice this year and 0 times in the last 6 games.

The key here is staying on top of Cam and keeping an eye on where the ball is going. We can't be caught off guard by misdirection and what not. Another key is causing turnovers. Carolina hasn't turned the ball over since Week 6 against Washington. At the beginning of the season, I had this as a lock win because I didn't expect Carolina to be this good. Now, I'm not too sure. Our defense is our kryptonite. I also think it will be a lot harder to get the running game going against this defense. Carolina's secondary won't let up on us so Ben is gonna have make precision throws tomorrow night. We have homefield advantage so that should help us, but we are 2-2 at home. With that said, both of Carolina's losses came on the road.

This has been one of the toughest games for me to analyze, to be honest. After this, i thoink the toughest game we have is against the Chargers. Man, 4 of the last 5 games on our schedule are gonna be very important, especially if we lose this game. I'd love to say we have this game in the bag, but I don't think we do. I'd love to say we win this game, but I don't think we do.

Carolina 30
Pittsburgh 21

 

[ATL96Steeler]

This is a frightening game for me. This Panthers' offense looks scary good. Trickery and misdirection and not to mention, Cam Newton is balling out right now. They have the 2nd best running attack in the league, yet we are 6th against the run. They have the 19th best passing game, but we are 21st against the pass. Carolina has had 100+ yards rushing in all but 1 game this year, our defense has only allowed 100+ rushing yards twice this year and 0 times in the last 6 games.

The key here is staying on top of Cam and keeping an eye on where the ball is going. We can't be caught off guard by misdirection and what not. Another key is causing turnovers. Carolina hasn't turned the ball over since Week 6 against Washington. At the beginning of the season, I had this as a lock win because I didn't expect Carolina to be this good. Now, I'm not too sure. Our defense is our kryptonite. I also think it will be a lot harder to get the running game going against this defense. Carolina's secondary won't let up on us so Ben is gonna have make precision throws tomorrow night. We have homefield advantage so that should help us, but we are 2-2 at home. With that said, both of Carolina's losses came on the road.

This has been one of the toughest games for me to analyze, to be honest. After this, i thoink the toughest game we have is against the Chargers. Man, 4 of the last 5 games on our schedule are gonna be very important, especially if we lose this game. I'd love to say we have this game in the bag, but I don't think we do. I'd love to say we win this game, but I don't think we do.

Carolina 30
Pittsburgh 21

I can appreciate that from a Queen City resident...From a scheme situation OFC vs Steeler D, I agree with you on misdirection being a key part of what they like to do. When you flow too hard to stop the run you can be susceptible to misdirection, but if you stay home and play your position this type of OFC doesn't scare me that much.

You eluded to my thoughts on why this matchup favors PIT...CAR strength is running it going against the Steeler D strength (run stopping). So the strengths kind of line up...WAS has a pretty stout DL and they didn't get 100 yds on them in a road effort, and even ATL held them to 120 or so.

I agree that running Connor between the tackles 25 times might not be the best use of his touches in this game, but I don't think they're very good off the edge and imo just okay 2 CB. Addison has turned back the clock and is playing his best football, but he has feasted on TB to pad those sack #s) so I'm pushing back on your 21 pts for PIT...I expect them to go north of that...hopefully anyway.

CAR is a tough team to play because they are physical, and on OFC they can be conventional or unconventional all on the same drive so they're not easy to defend. That said...the saying in boxing "styles makes fights"...as that applies to this game...the style of play is the reason I like the Steelers moreso this week than I did vs BAL.

 

[Yo Tee]

Gilbert and McCullers are officially out of the game. Torrey Smith is out for the 2nd straight week for the Panthers and Marquis Haynes, rookie DE out of Ole Miss, is out as well. Two losses for the Panthers they won't really feel as Smith, like stated above, was out last week and Haynes has only played one game this year.

Other stats before gameday, Carolina has never won in Pittsburgh and the last time they beat us was 1996. The last 4 games have been decided by at least 16 points and this is Cam Newton's first trip to Heinz Field.

Should be a very very good game, IDK about y'all, but I will be tuning into this game on Amazon Prime! lol

 

[Balljim55]

The Steelers come into week 10 on a 4 game win streak including division wins over CIN & BAL and it’s changed the outlook of the team considerably. At 5-2-1 the Steelers lead CIN by a game in the loss column and sit atop the AFCN. While the Patriots and KC dominate the top of the conference with high octane OFC, the Steelers are finding a pretty good balance of OFC and DEF support over this win streak giving up 17, 21, 18, and 16 points respectively over the last 4 games.

This game with CAR is the 3rd of 4 NFCS matchups this season. The Panthers come in playing some pretty good football themselves bringing a 6-2 record into Heinz Field. When it comes to scoring rankings, they are 11th on OFC, and 12th DEF. The Panthers have wins over both CIN and BAL and looking to make PIT their 3rd AFCN W.

This is an interesting matchup imo because The Panthers are one of the more unique OFC in the league. A blend of the read option with Cam as a keeper and pro style with Cam using a fair amount of playaction to go down field and he’s starting to develop a short passing game with the outstanding RB talent they have in Christian McCaffery.

Aside from McCaffery, the names may not wow you, but they’re getting good production from Devin Funchess and DJ Moore. His old standby security blanket is TE Greg Olsen…finally healthy.

Injury front

McCullers (ankle), Gilbert (knee) both questionable. James Washington (knee) Ryan Switzer (ankle) and Ben (finger) are probable.

Outlook

This may be a game that Bostic and VWill are counted on more. I actually like this matchup for PIT because they are not really a high powered passing OFC. The one big fear I have in this game are missed tackles on Cam if he breaks the pocket on scrambles against nickel/dime. McCaffery in space on LBs is a death wish…it will be curious to see how Butler defends this kid.

The Panthers are not a great off the edge pressure team, but they love to bring their LBs on the blitz inside and will occasionally bring CBs and S much like Butler. Kueghly is one of the best coverage LBs in the game. Even though they have a healthy amount of picks (means they probably played TB already…lol) they are not great in the secondary imo. Could be a tough day for running Connor inside with the two beasts DTs they have, but he should still be a factor, ATL and WAS both had good games on the ground against them.

27 – 20…Steelers

What say you?

Panthers fan here.
Spot on analysis. No way would I bet on this game as I could make a good argument for either team winning. Both teams are on the rise. Both are getting good QB play. Both rely on the run game. Both teams are led by their offense more so than their defense which is not typical for either. Some X-factors
#1 Antonio Brown - this guy is a nightmare to defend
#2 Thursday night games strongly favor the home team
#3 I think Carolina's offense is more difficult to prepare for on a short week
#4 Cam typically spreads the ball around to his WRs pretty efficiently and with Norv Turner's guidance takes advantage of match ups.
#5 James Connor is an all-around stud RB that can get tough yards or break long ones
#6 Macaffrey is a Swiss army knife and tough to game plan for

Looking forward to a great game (hopefully)

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Panthers fan here.
Spot on analysis. No way would I bet on this game as I could make a good argument for either team winning. Both teams are on the rise. Both are getting good QB play. Both rely on the run game. Both teams are led by their offense more so than their defense which is not typical for either. Some X-factors
#1 Antonio Brown - this guy is a nightmare to defend
#2 Thursday night games strongly favor the home team
#3 I think Carolina's offense is more difficult to prepare for on a short week
#4 Cam typically spreads the ball around to his WRs pretty efficiently and with Norv Turner's guidance takes advantage of match ups.
#5 James Connor is an all-around stud RB that can get tough yards or break long ones
#6 Macaffrey is a Swiss army knife and tough to game plan for

Looking forward to a great game (hopefully)

The longer the game remains a one possession the more dangerous CAR is...The best thing for PIT would be to get a 2 possession lead in the 2nd half and force CAR into a one dimension game.

My guess is PIT will try zone it off against Cam the majority of the time, so he will have some windows to throw into. If he's willing to take what they give him in that 5 to 8 yd area and he's accurate...PIT might have a hard time getting off the field. Butler will bring enough heat to force him to make some quick decisions...if they getting home I like PIT in this game.

If they're not, it could be a FG game either way.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Offense... Going to be much tougher to establish the run game tonight with Carolina's LB corps. They'll be all over Conner and IMO are better suited to defend his style of running. I imagine we'll see a lot more passing from Ben than what we're comfortable with, likely 40+ easy. Ben has been playing really well so I imagine he'll be patient and take what the defense gives him. Since this is going to be a close game they all need to be smart with the ball. If they can grind out the TOP like last week, then I think they'll be in great shape in the 4th quarter.

Defense... This game wreaks of exploitation. I honestly don't think this defense can defend a quick-passing spread offense like this. I imagine Butler will lift off the pressure and start spreading the zones like he typically does when he has no answers. DB's need to respect the box more in this game. If we see them dropping into zones then McCaffrey is going to have a huge game. Barnett is probably going to be spying on Newton a lot tonight. At least he & V-Will would be the only 2 I'd trust to do that job. Don't forget about Hilton either. His range from the slot gives them a good safety blanket.

Expecting a very close game tonight. As ATL said, they need to find a way to get up early and force Carolina to take more risks. If its a 1 possession ballgame then I expect a lot of back & forth. Buckle up & take your BP meds gentlemen...

Steelers 32 - Panthers 28

 

[Yo Tee]

Buckle up & take your BP meds gentlemen...

Can I take a shot of JD everytime we make a mistake instead?

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Can I take a shot of JD everytime we make a mistake instead?

JD is for pussies but I hear ya. Going to be one of those games...

 

[Yo Tee]

JD is for pussies but I hear ya. Going to be one of those games...

Well, with my medical condition, I shouldn't be drinking in the first place, but like you said, it's gonna be one of those games lol

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Well, with my medical condition, I shouldn't be drinking in the first place, but like you said, it's gonna be one of those games lol

What's your condition?

 

[Yo Tee]

What's your condition?

Hemochromatosis. Too much iron in my blood which has given me vertigo at the ripe young age of 30 years old. Alcohol makes me feel like I've been hit by a damn bus for like 2 days.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Hemochromatosis. Too much iron in my blood which has given me vertigo at the ripe young age of 30 years old. Alcohol makes me feel like I've been hit by a damn bus for like 2 days.

Damn. I imagine excessive consumption probably accelerates the condition? Sounds awful.

 

[Yo Tee]

Damn. I imagine excessive consumption probably accelerates the condition? Sounds awful.

Exactly. Learned the hard way that alcohol makes it worse as well. That was fun lol

 

[SteelersPride]

yeah dont drink dude

 

[SJ20]

Another big game. This time it is at home. Have to keep making statements. Go out and win this thing. Going to be a battle.

PIT 38
CAR 31

 

[Ewa PGH Fan]

Even a 27 yard punt can’t mar this beat down!

 

[Ewa PGH Fan]

My god does Burns suck!

 

[Maximus Rex]

Post game thoughts:

1. First drive of Panthers was abysmal run defense, and had me worried.

2. First drive of Steelers with the pass to JuJu got me less worried.

3. Decent job containing Cam after the first quarter.

4. I hope Connor is okay, haven't heard anything of substance after he left the tent.

5. Excellent job by the Offensive Line tonight, Mike Webster and John Kolb would be proud.

6. @FaCe-LeE-uS is now a zombie post-trip from Asia, and is probably going to destroy us all soon if the Steelers lose again this season, so let's keep the zombie happy, eh?

 

[ATL96Steeler]

HC...5 of 5, in spite of a shaky 1st series by the DEF, this was the most complete game the Steelers have played in a long time...totally dominating a pretty good team on both sides of the ball.

OFC...5 of 5, I picked the Steelers by 7 because I liked a lot of the matchups favoring them but no way did I expect a 30 pt blowout. I said from the outset I thought Ben and the passing game would be effective, the CAR secondary was not as good as the stats. OL played very well and were rewarded with a perfect game by Ben...perfect QB rating last night...Kudos to Fichtner as well, called a great aggressive game.

DEF...5 of 5...not sure what adjustment was made or what was said, but the after that 1st CAR driver they kicked it into gear and swarmed Cam...getting pressure from all angles...one causing the pick 6 by VWill....Burns is playing himself right off the roster next year.

ST...4 of 5...two punts and one < 30 yds...on an otherwise perfect night, Berry had to stick out like a sore thumb.

Summary...Vegas has this one right all along but got scared it seems...lol. Now the Steelers get the needed 10 day break after a TNF game. I'm not sure it was the most important win of the year, but after a shaky start, I think gave the Steelers a huge boost of confidence and the national stage it showed that PIT is a contender.

This win give them a 3 game lead on BAL in the loss column. CIN hosts the red hot Saints. Win and the Bengals stay one game back, lose and CIN drops 2 back and travel to BAL for the 2.0 game next. PIT hits the road as well going to JAX, once a national TV game now bumped to a 1p, and @ DEN the following week.

They can't afford a lapse in this two games that I'm sure they will be a road favorite....this is the scary stretch for a Tomlin team so let's hope they get thru it 2-0. As of this morning I haven't heard any details on Connor, aside from in concuss protocol...now with Rooney on record I trust Bell's agent has told the FO he is reporting this week....hopefully JC is cleared and ready to roll in JAX.