The Seahawks started the season 1-0 by beating the Bengals, but exposed several weak points for the Steelers to target. Russell Wilson is a dangerous quarterback that worked with a dynamic rushing attack last season. But the Seahawks' line struggled against the Bengals in week one.
This needs to be a focus for Keith Butler and the Steelers' defensive front. If they can shut down the Seahawks' ground game and make Wilson's day difficult in the pocket, it could be their biggest factor to evening out their record at 1-1.
The Seahawks' ground game struggled severely against the Bengals last week with Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny gaining a combined 64 yards on 21 carries for a 3 yard average. That's alarming for an offense that ranked first in rushing yards and fifth in yards per carry last season.
The key to this problem was the Seahawks' offensive line. Despite returning four starters from last season, they looked disjointed and overmatched against the Bengals' defensive line. Communication breakdowns will be key areas of opportunity for Cam Heyward, Stephon Tuitt, T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree to disrupt their run game before it can get started.
Watch how Carlos Dunlap swims his way through B-gap to bring down Carson for a loss. Notice the left tackle, Duane Brown, using a left reach at the start of the play.
Whenever one lineman reaches, he opens up the gap next to him, meaning the rest of the line needs to reach as well. But while the rest of the line does the reach, guard Ethan Pocic does not, opening up an easy play for Dunlap:
These moments of uncertainty in the scheme and responsibility happened throughout their game with the Bengals. The Steelers shouldn't rely on them to win, but if their front causes some havoc at the line early, more of these opportunities will present themselves once Seahawks try to overcompensate for their mistakes.
But after the Steelers stop the run they'll need to keep Wilson from getting in rhythm with his passing game. Wilson doesn't have dynamic threats in the receiving game, but can work magic with some deep shots to Tyler Lockett and rookie D.K. Metcalf.
The key to keeping him in check will be to collapse his pocket and keep him from having easy escape lanes. Watch this sack from Sam Hubbard against Germain Ifedi. Hubbard gives your standard speed rush off the left edge and breezes by Ifedi, forcing Wilson up in the pocket. But Wilson has nowhere to escape as his middle lanes are clogged by Josh Tupou and Andrew Billings:
Wilson is a quarterback that can scramble, but he's not one that runs just for the sake of running. He has a great command of his offense, often knowing where his receivers are and keeping his head up to watch them improvise when a play breaks down. He's scary in the pocket, but even more dangerous when he breaks it.
That's why the Steelers have to make sure Watt and Dupree are prepared to contain Wilson while in pursuit. Watch Hubbard's sack against the game and how he attacks Wilson's back shoulder. Hubbard has a clean rush, but he takes a calculated pursuit angle. Knowing Wilson has good feet, he angles his attack to Wilson's back shoulder to give him no room to spin outside. This forces Wilson to step up into the rest of the pass rush, and Hubbard can finish the play:
Watt and Dupree have done this before, so it shouldn't be too much to expect them to be able to do it again. If these three aspects are accounted for by the defensive front, Wilson will be forced to make quicker timed throws to a Seahawks receiving corps that shouldn't be too much for Joe Haden and Steven Nelson to handle.
Watch on Sunday to see if Watt and company become the players of the game and lead the Steelers to their first win.
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MORE CLASSROOM
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