Devlin Hodges did just what was asked of him in the Steelers' 20-13 win over the Browns at Heinz Field on Sunday. He finished completing 14 of 21 passes for 212 yards, one touchdown and one interception for a passer rating of 95.7.
But he brought an element to the Steelers' offense that hadn't been seen much this season, and that was his deep ball. Let's break that down:
Hodges completed four of six passes that traveled over 20 yards through the air, one of which resulted in a touchdown to James Washington and another in an interception. Those four completions are almost half of the nine such passes Mason Rudolph completed over the nine games he's played this season.
But what's most impressive about Hodges' deep passing against the Browns was his decision-making and how he approached each throw. Even when his accuracy wasn't the best, Hodges displayed an understanding of the Browns' coverage packages and how to attack them.
Here's a deep ball he short-armed to Diontae Johnson that almost resulted in a touchdown. Johnson runs a deep route overtop of Vance McDonald's intermediate route that freezes safety Sheldrick Redwine just enough for Johnson to get behind him. Hodges floats the ball a little too much for Redwine to recover, but if he led Johnson just a bit more it would've been a big play:
As the game continued, the Browns tired showing various defensive looks to confuse and intimidate Hodges. But he never looked deterred from taking shots against the Browns. Here's a play that was both and impressive read and throw to Tevin Jones.
The Browns show a deep safety lined over Jones in the slot next two a cornerback playing off, suggesting that both defensive backs were either in man or in deep quarter zones. But the safety jumps up from his deep coverage while the a safety on the other side of the field drops into a deep zone.
That opens up a narrow lane for Hodges to hit Jones' seam route, and he threads the needle:
Whether Hodges saw that developing the whole way or he got lucky is tough to tell, but either way it's a great play on his part. Being able to identify the single coverage opportunities is vital to open up an offense.
He hit three of those passes to Washington, one right over the Browns' top cornerback Denzel Ward. Watch how he checks to see if he has the single coverage, then delivers the perfect pass right over Ward for Washington to pull in:
Hodges even displayed the ability to manipulate safeties by looking them off from his true target. That's how he opened up Washington from double coverage on the 30-yard touchdown pass.
Watch where his head is looking immediately after the snap in relation to how the deep middle safety takes his first steps. It freezes him in the middle of the field and allows Washington to run his route against single coverage. By the time the ball gets to Washington, the safety is too late:
Hodges still has a lot to learn, as well as an inconsistent throwing motion and not the ideal arm strength. But he's a gamer and gives the Steelers' offense a chance to capitalize on big plays with smart shots downfield, something that hadn't happened enough during the 2019 season.
He will get the opportunity to take more of those shots against a struggling Cardinals' defense on Sunday.
MORE CLASSROOM
Dec. 3: Washington gets a grip
Dec. 2: Relentless pressure cooks Baker
Nov. 30: Keep it simple for Hodges
Nov. 28: Heyward wins anywhere
