The Steelers already faced off against a premier rushing attack earlier this season when they lost to the Cowboys at Heinz Field. They face another test Sunday against the Bills, the NFL's best rushing team.
The Bills are in the top 10 in scoring with an average of 25.4 points per game. They are led by LeSean McCoy and their running game averages almost 162 yards per game. That's six yards more than the Cowboys' average per game, and they carved up the Steelers for 127 yards rushing.
In each of the Steelers' six wins, they have held their opponent to less than 100 yards on the ground, and in all but one of their losses, they have given up more than 100 yards.
The Bills have been kept to less than 100 yards only three times this season, each time resulting in a loss. But the three teams which held the Bills' ground attack in check all had premier talent on their defensive line: the Dolphins had Ndamukong Suh, the Ravens with Brandon Williams and Timmy Jernigan, and the Jets with Muhammad Wilkerson and Leonard Williams.
The Steelers are missing Cam Heyward, their defensive captain and best lineman, and they might be without Javon Hargrave (concussion).
THE REAL MCCOY
The Bills have gained more than 150 yards rushing for five consecutive games. The Bills employ a mix of power run plays and zone run schemes in order to put defenders at the second level, linebackers and safeties, in position to make difficult decisions of which gaps to defend.
To help their offensive line, the Bills often lineup in the shotgun or pistol formations in order to put the threat of quarterback Tyrod Taylor as a potential runner on an option play. This can keep linebackers from flowing to the running back:
Notice how in the above play, the Bills pull their center to get out on the edge to take on the outside linebacker while the tight end comes down the line as a lead blocker to give McCoy the space he needs. The Bills love to pull linemen for run plays in order to create spaces for McCoy to build up his momentum and utilize his vision to accelerate quickly.
The tricky thing about pulling guards is that if the defense does not read them, then they are susceptible to letting the offense control the flow of the play. Middle linebackers have to watch to see when and where the interior linemen pull. Often the interior offensive linemen who pull have a defensive tackle or end lined up over them, which requires the gap from which the pulling linemen vacates responsible to a player next to them.
Notice how the nose tackle, right over the center, stands up as soon as the play begins and creates no penetration in the space vacated by the center. Richie Incognito takes him out of the equation and ensures the play will not get disrupted in the A-Gap.
The other pieces of this are how the tight end comes from the opposite side of the play to kick out the outside linebacker while the middle linebacker fails to plug the hole McCoy attacks. There are fundamental mechanics that defenses can use to stop this, but part of what the Bills do is present multiple threats for defenses to account.
Even in the play above, notice the threat of the option for Taylor to take the ball and even the receiver sweeping behind the entire play to show the threat of a reverse. All these things can mix up a defense, and sometimes do when that defense isn't focused on reading their keys.
It should also be noted that these aren't veiled threats of option plays either, because Taylor has the speed to take advantage of a defense that does not account for the possibility of him running with the ball:
Taylor gets the liberty to make these decisions based off of how he's reading the defense. The above play shows Taylor reading the weak side of the defense and Khalil Mack not coming deep enough into the backfield to impede Taylor's progress.
The Steelers have done a good job in the past four weeks accounting for gaps in the line of scrimmage and tackling the ball carrier, but none of the running backs they have faced are at the caliber of McCoy:
The Bills don't pull any guards here as this is a normal zone blocking scheme. These are especially dangerous because it places the onus on the defense to present which gaps they will defend, giving McCoy the chance to read and react.
That danger intensifies because McCoy has developed his ability to read defenses over the years and is an expert at picking his battles. On the above play, McCoy makes two defensive backs miss with the simplest of moves. Sean Davis has shown improvement in his play, especially at the line of scrimmage. So look to see just how far that improvement has gone when he has to take down one of the best running backs in the NFL.
But you're probably wondering how the Steelers can counter the traps and pulling guards which the Bills regularly employ. Zone run schemes are something that teams often use and that a disciplined defense can overwhelm; so let's take a look at one of the few teams that have held the Bills' running game in check:
Notice how the left edge is maintained because the center pulls and cannot get anywhere. The key is for the outside linebacker, or defensive end in this case, to recognize that he's being allowed to come free off the line of scrimmage only so he can be blindsided and the space he occupies to be opened up.
But that player, Jason Jones, does is that he quickly recognizes he is being set up for the trap, breaks down to look for the lineman that's coming down the line and then attacks the center. Doing so prevents the space from being cleared out, ruining the entire scheme and forcing the running back to take desperate measures to make a play, which ultimately result in failure.
James Harrison and Bud Dupree will be key factors in the success and failure of the Steelers' containment of the Bills runs to the outside. They have to crash down when they're being trapped, keep their outside shoulders free and remain aware for the possibilities of Taylor rolling out or play fakes.
That comes with the fundamentals that we have been highlighting the past few weeks.
Carter’s Classroom appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday on DKPittsburghSports.com.
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