War Room: Bruising O-line paves Steelers' path taken at Rooney Complex (Steelers)

Ramon Foster and David DeCastro open a hole for James Conner's first touchdown. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS

The Steelers' 28-21 victory over the Bengals flashed clutch performances from their skill players. But it was the consistency of the team's offensive line that set the tone.

Let's dig deep ...

TWO-MINUTE DRILL

Where scheme beat team: When I highlighted James Conner's success on the ground during plays when he had a lead blocker, it was to equally pay tribute to the offensive line's efforts along with Conner's.

That became the story of the game when the offensive line completely dominated a defensive line that had produced 12 of the Bengals' 13 sacks coming into the game. The Bengals' stout defensive line boasted six-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Geno Atkins, a young bowling ball of a tackle in Andrew Billings and talented ends in Carlos DunlapCarl Lawson and Keith Willis.

But this offensive line knew that they could win at the point of attack and blew them off the ball, knowing that when they did, they could also get to the linebackers and give Conner clear lanes for big gains.

That's where those plays occurred when the Steelers could pull linemen and turn them into the lead blockers Conner likes to see. Almost half of Conner's yards came from two big bursts off identical plays, in which the Steelers had David DeCastro and Maurkice Pouncey pull and become lead blockers on the right edge.

Before looking at at the pulls, take note of how the right edge of the Steelers' line completely dominates the Bengals by turning them inward. Marcus Gilbert completely neutralizes Atkins, Jesse James folds the defensive end to the inside and Xavier Grimble  gets his hat on Vontaze Burfict.

Now look at how Pouncey and DeCastro spring this play by turning into lead blockers. Pouncey eliminates Dre Kirkpatrick in space, and DeCastro pushes Shaun Williams so far back he ends up helping Grimble seal Burfict from ever getting to Conner:

That's winning at the point of attack and making it so Conner doesn't have to make a man miss until he's 25 yards into his run. And it's spectacular because it neutralizes the Bengals' four-man front. When a team goes with four down linemen on defense, they're banking those ends can set the edge or at least give a clear path for the linebackers to slice through the line and find the running back.

But when those guys up front get bullied like the Bengals did, the linebackers become easy prey for the linemen to eliminate.

What's additionally demoralizing to the Bengals' defense is when the Steelers can run the same play repeatedly and still pick up huge gains. That play we just highlighted was used again when Conner ran for 25 yards to the goal line.

But look at how DeCastro and Pouncey work it his time when they see Clayton Fejedelem creep up to help against the run. DeCastro cuts his pull sharper to seal Fejedelem to the inside while Pouncey takes out Kirkpatrick again. Doing so cut off Burfict from even getting to Conner:

That's showing ability to adjust to what defenses are doing to negate your run game. Even when they blitz a safety into the side where the ball is going, the Steelers are able to adjust and plow the road for Conner.

While the Steelers' skill players deserve a ton of credit for being elite, this offensive line deserves a ton of credit for asserting its dominance. If they can keep this up, the Steelers will boast a balanced offense going through the season, and that will prevent opponents from keying on a single aspect to take away.

• All about the tackling: Missed tackles were a main problem of the Steelers in 2017, as Pro Football Focus revealed with their number-crunching on that team:

Because of that, our commitment this season is to keep a close eye on this facet.

Vince Williams returned strong after missing the Falcons' game due to injury by leading the team in tackles. Though he missed a big tackle that led to Mixon's longest run of the game, his performance was major.

Other notables were how Javon Hargrave managed to nab five tackles on 21 snaps, meaning he got to the ball more than 23 percent of the time he was on the field. That's very good numbers for a defensive tackle. The Steelers are continuing to show that Mike Tomlin's emphasis on tackling all through camp is paying off.

Top matchups: Each week we pick three key matchups for the game. Here's how this week's played out:

• Foster/Pouncey/DeCastro vs. Billings/Atkins: The Bengals have two dominant forces in the middle of the line in Andrew Billings and Geno Atkins. Atkins is the veteran defensive tackle who can stuff the run and rush the passer, and Billings is the bowling ball in the middle that eats up blockers. Neither did any of that, as Roethlisberger had a clean pocket, and Conner had plenty of space to run. Advantage: Steelers.

• A.J. Green vs. Joe Haden: The Steelers did a great job limiting the Falcons' receivers last week, and they had another talented pairing with A.J. Green and Tyler Boyd this week to stop. The key was keeping Green, the superstar, from taking over the game. Haden did a good job of that last season in the one game he played against the Bengals, and it was key that he did it again here.  Advantage: Steelers.

• James Conner vs. Bengals' linebackers: Confident that the Steelers would get Conner holes to run, I saw the big deal of this game being how he would do in space when he got his chances to make defenders miss. Those moments came, and he won them. Vontaze BurfictPreston Brown and Vincent Rey got their fair share of shots at Conner, but he came out on top with 111 yards on 19 carries and two touchdowns.

Had a big play or a decent game ⭐

Very impressive, multiple big plays ⭐⭐

Elite performance ⭐⭐⭐

Gave up a big play without redemption ☠

Total performance was a disappointment ☠☠

Horrible, inexcusable ☠☠☠

QUARTERBACK: A-

Roethlisberger's day was mostly efficient with his 100.2 passer rating. But he reminded everyone about his clutch factor in the most important part of the game.

Ben Roethlisberger: ⭐⭐

Though he missed on some key throws, Roethlisberger showed command of the offense for most of the game. He's still working on his deep ball, but under the Randy Fichtner offense, he is performing much better at maximizing horizontal space with his weapons.

He's also taking more of what specific defenses give him, and that had been his weakness for years. Nothing demonstrated that better than his game-winning touchdown toss to Antonio Brown. Watch how he sees Fejedelem start to creep up from his safety position to blitz. As soon as Roethlisberger sees the single-high safety show blitz, he knows he's going up against a zero-coverage blitz.

The Bengals gambled he wouldn't see it coming since they hadn't called it all game, but Roethlisberger took his time, pointed to Brown and made the adjustment. The motion inside by Brown forced Jackson to back off his press coverage and allowed Justin Hunter to clear the path for Brown to be open on the slant:

Reads such as this can remove the need for Roethlisberger to make sensational throws 30 yards downfield if he's getting 31-yard touchdowns with just throwing the ball a single yard. Execution like this helps an offense be truly elite and shows a high level of preparation by the entire group.

RUNNING BACKS: A

The Steelers needed a balanced offense to keep an aggressive Bengals' defense on its heels, and Conner did his part.

James Conner: ⭐⭐⭐

Any day you can go out and put up 111 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries is a good day. Conner was great when out in space and made several defenders miss. The Steelers needed to be physically dominant, and Conner was every bit the imposing force they needed to set the tone. Include his solid pass protection, and you've got a great day.

OFFENSIVE LINE: A+

This was the Steelers' best group of the game. They faced a Bengals' defense they knew would try to punch them in the mouth and imposed their will. Conner had great running lanes all game, and Roethlisberger was never touched in the backfield.

Maurkice Pouncey: ⭐⭐⭐

Pouncey was key at the point of attack, both in the middle of the line and out on the edge when he pulled to be a lead blocker. Games like this are a reminder of why it's vital he has remained part of this offense.

David DeCastro: ⭐⭐⭐

Had the same sort of game as Pouncey, in that the run game was dominant and the pass rush was neutralized. Bengals' defensive tackle Atkins began tied with T.J. Watt for the most sacks in the NFL with six, and he didn't even get a quarterback hit registered.

Ramon Foster:⭐⭐⭐

Key to communication on this line and every bit of a contributor to their success in this game.

Alejandro Villanueva: ⭐⭐⭐

Villanueva had a tough job limiting Michael Johnson and young talents like Carl Lawson and Keith Willis, but he delivered. No edge rusher even sniffed Roethlisberger.

Marcus Gilbert: ⭐⭐⭐

Carlos Dunlap was right behind Atkins with four sacks on the season, but Gilbert neutralized him all game and opened up his edge for several big runs.

WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS: A

This group had another reliable performance and came up in big situations. When the game was on the line, they continued to make plays in the second half.

Antonio Brown: ⭐⭐⭐

He only had six targets, but he took five of them for 105 yards and the game-winning touchdown. He was beating both Dre Kirkpatrick and William Jackson regularly throughout the game and drew some penalties as they grabbed on to him. His 48-yard reception to set up a fourth-quarter field goal and 31-yard touchdown were vital to the win.

JuJu Smith-Schuster: ⭐⭐⭐

Sure, Smith-Schuster short-armed a pass and dropped another on a play early in the game, but he also came back and made some amazing plays to get the win. Smith-Schuster is improving his sharp route-running skills and getting open without having to win combat catch situations.

But his biggest moments were indeed the combat catch situations. On a key third down during the Steelers' game-winning drive, Smith-Schuster skied up to snag a difficult pass in coverage. His biggest play came on a pass that set up a score in the fourth quarter, when he jumped over the shoulder of Darqueze Dennard to prevent an interception and make an amazing catch.

That's elite, and it's how you come up big for your team. Include his 111 yards and his recovered fumble that saved a red-zone possession, and he had a huge day.

Vance McDonald: ⭐⭐

Seven catches for 68 yards and a reminder of how athletic he is with a solid missed tackle forced on Burfict in space. Had he picked up the third down and not fumbled, he would've had a higher grade.

DEFENSIVE LINE: B

The return of an interior pass rush helped the Steelers pressure Andy Dalton in key situations during the second half, and this unit was part of that. They weren't at their best, but they flashed a resurgence to being contributors to the sack count.

Stephon Tuitt: ⭐

Tuitt got his first sack of the season and looked better at holding his spot on the line. He also had a big moment on the Steelers' stop on a crucial third-and-1 run for no gain by Joe Mixon on the first drive of the third quarter.

Javon Hargrave: ⭐⭐

Right along with Tuitt on that third down stop was Hargrave, winning at the point of attack and holding up the line so T.J. Watt could make the tackle. Equally remarkable was how Hargrave only played 21 snaps and made five tackles. One of those tackles was a sack in which he knifed through the line and brought down Dalton on a first down in the second quarter. That helped the defense set up a three-and-out to start the second half.

Hargrave has had a roller-coaster season so far, but this certainly was a game on the upside.

LINEBACKERS: B

After a big performance against the Falcons, the linebackers weren't as dominating but still had a solid game.

Vince Williams: ⭐⭐

Coming off an injury is never easy, but Williams sure made it look like it was. Tasked with man coverage on Mixon several times, Williams had to come out of his comfort zone and help in coverage. The results were positive, and even though he didn't register a clear pass defensed, he had two plays where he provided solid coverage on Mixon to force incomplete passes and two others where he sniffed out shorter passes to stop them immediately.

Williams also contributed with a sack on Dalton in the second quarter. Were it not for a missed tackle in the run game and not being as strong in the hole, he would've gotten three stars.

T.J. Watt: ⭐

My initial review for Watt wasn't positive because I didn't remember his name being called enough, but he did have a solid pass defensed while covering Boyd and a crucial tackle on that third-and-one stop to star the second half. He only had two tackles on 51 snaps, but he wasn't a detriment.

Bud Dupree: ☠

Dupree came off the same way as Watt to me during the game, but I found no redeeming plays in my review. Not a horrible game, but not a notable one either, and they needed more wins from him in the pass rush.

SECONDARY: B

Once again this group went up against a talented bunch and didn't let an opponent's receivers dictate the flow of the game. They're improving as a group, even when a certain third-year first-round pick isn't.

Artie Burns: ☠☠

I avoided giving Burns all three skulls because he did have moments in coverage when he diverted attention from his spot on several snaps. But the problem came on two huge mistakes that resulted in big plays for the Bengals. His pass interference in the fourth quarter was unnecessary. I didn't see it live, but when I got a better look at the review, you could clearly see him give a poorly timed push.

But the bigger problem was the touchdown to Boyd he surrendered. Watch how he plays back and doesn't react to Boyd's out. He has deep responsibility, but that's the end zone, and when you are the only guy on that side of the field playing deep, Boyd is obviously your man:

It looked like Burns was expecting underneath help on Boyd, but he had to recognize it wasn't coming and cut on Boyd's route. Burns' mental mistakes are compounding each other, and now he's giving up plays he used to routinely stop. He has to learn to trust his eyes more, but he looks shell-shocked making decisions in coverage.

When you get fewer snaps than Coty Sensabaugh, that means the coaches think the same way.

Joe Haden: ⭐⭐

I only hold back from giving Haden three stars because of his dropped interceptions. If he caught the first one, he would've stopped the Bengals' first touchdown drive and had a good chance of a big return.

But he still had a great day. Green only had three receptions when Haden was guarding him, and Haden was never out of place. Even when Haden wasn't on Green, he was locking down his side.

Mike Hilton: ⭐⭐⭐

Another great performance that had him flying all over the field. But what makes him special as a slot cornerback is how he finds ways to win when opponents are trying to put him in tough situations.

Watch how the Bengals try to free up Boyd by putting him behind two other receivers in a bunch formation while Hilton is pressing at the line. Hilton has to work his way past the two releasing receivers and play underneath Boyd as he releases up the field. Hilton cannot afford to look for the ball because of his position, so he puts his left hand in between Boyd's to do his best to break up the pass:

Moments like these add up against teams that like to run spread offenses and pick at defenses with their slot receivers. Hilton is proving to be a master at negating those situations. Don't be surprised if this becomes a major point for the Steelers when they face Julian Edelman and the Patriots later this year.

THE ROAD AHEAD

The Steelers finish on a two-game win streak entering the bye week. While many are concerned about the whereabouts of Le'Veon Bell, the team is focused on what they'll do with the players available. Dale Lolley's story from yesterday illuminated as much, and it's that kind of approach that got this running game the success it's had.

The Steelers' defense allowed three touchdown drives of 54, 44 and 61 yards. Their ability to limit the huge chunk plays where offenses get behind their safeties has improved, and they're showing that if given a longer field to defend, they can deliver. But they still have bumps to work out, especially with Burns and the occasional run broken up the middle.

It does seem like the middle of the defense is starting to come together, and that might get even better if Morgan Burnett can get back to full strength. Fixing those problems will be the focus of the bye week.

MATT SUNDAY GALLERY

Steelers vs. Bengals, Cincinnati, Oct. 14, 2018 - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS

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