Ben Roethlisberger will look to capitalize on the Chiefs' aggressive defense. — MATT SUNDAY / DKPS

Steelers

Carter's Classroom: Countering K.C.'s aggression

Jan 13, 2017 • 2:22 pm

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The Chiefs' strength on defense has been their ability to create pressured situations on their opponents with various blitzes that attack offenses from different spots throughout the game.

What makes their defense more lethal is when they get more predictable passing situations and the amount of different blitz looks increases simply because there are more plays they can call without worrying about accounting for the run game. Different blitz angles and looks have to change positions of where the defenders lineup, which can open up gaps for running backs to score easy yards.

That leads to the Chiefs' defense, much like the Steelers' defense, needing to stop the run early on to force more passing plays. Their safeties and linebackers flow to the gaps on running plays quickly, which means a great way to offset that will require early success in the passing game from Ben Roethlisberger.

If you remember their previous matchup, the Steelers did just that when Roethlisberger opened up the game with a bomb to Sammie Coates and passing touchdowns that took away the Chiefs' aggressiveness and allowed for Le'Veon Bell to run for 144 yards.

We take a look at how they can do that again:

STRETCH THE FIELD

One thing the Steelers can do with the speed they have on their roster is force the Chiefs to stretch their secondary to have to cover larger parts of the field.

That's what the Steelers did on this third down completion to Antonio Brown:

Roethlisberger reads Eric Berry as the high safety and Darrius Heyward-Bey forces Marcus Peters to have to run deep. That leaves Brown in single coverage on a drag route for an easy completion to convert the third down.

Roethlisberger identified the coverage quickly and correctly on this play and it allowed him to call up the right protection to buy time and make a routine play. Brown is difficult to cover but especially on routes when he has that much space to work and only one defender shadowing him it becomes a nightmare for defenses to account for him.

WHEN BACKED OFF

Jesse James' touchdown was a perfect example of what happens when the Chiefs have to account for both the pass and the run. That balance prevents them from sending any pressure at Roethlisberger, giving him time to pick apart their coverage scheme:

Once the Chiefs have been put in this position, the game will fall on the accuracy and efficiency of Roethlisberger to put them away. Watch how each defender that isn't in man coverage against a Steeler is flat-footed looking to see what the offense is trying to do. By the time Roethlisberger makes his decision, it's too late for their reactions to have any impact.

You can see that even with James' touchdown catch, Roethlisberger still had Heyward-Bey wide open in the flat with a good chance to score.

The more success the Steelers have early in the passing game, the better chances they'll have to mix in the running game and neutralize the Chiefs' blitzes and takeaway their biggest asset to create turnovers.

PLAY ACTION

One of the most classic ways to play off an opponent's aggressiveness is still the play action pass. It worked in week four and there's no reason to believe it wouldn't work again.

Watch below how both the middle linebackers shuffle their feet to try to plug either hole that Bell could run through. Bell sells the play action as he does a quick shuffle at the line of scrimmage, freezing the linebackers for just a second:

That second is more than enough to open up the middle of the field for Roethlisberger to find Xavier Grimble, whose banana route becomes a routine completion.

These types of plays create more hesitation from defenders whenever their eyes are trained to read run or pass. Expect the Steelers to use a good amount of play action on early downs to set the tone early and keep the Chiefs off their game.