The Steelers have to face a mix of young and mobile quarterbacks in their final stretch of four games to make the 2019-2020 NFL playoffs. Sunday they'll face the Cardinals' first overall pick, Kyler Murray, before they'll face the Bills' Josh Allen the next week and a season finale against Lamar Jackson.
Murray isn't a run-first type of quarterback, but he does use his legs to extend plays and break the contain of opposing pass rushes. That could end up being the biggest threat to the Steelers' chances on Sunday, so let's break down how they should approach Murray's mobility:
The Steelers just got done beating Baker Mayfield, the 2018 first overall selection, last week. Mayfield isn't a scrambling quarterback, but he can be mobile to extend plays like Murray. The Steelers did a much better job containing Mayfield in the rematch at Heinz Field last Sunday, but they need to avoid some of the pitfalls that beat them the first time around.
Murray has a similar style to Mayfield, both being undersized quarterbacks from Oklahoma, but is even smaller at 5-foot-10 compared to Mayfield at 6-foot-1. Even with a decent pass rush to move Mayfield off his launch point, the Steelers needed to maintain edge contain to stop him from breaking outside of their rush so he could throw on the run.
Watch how once Mayfield slips outside of T.J. Watt's edge rush that he's able to fix his eyes on Kareem Hunt and make a good throw on the run:
Murray is a more dangerous threat with his legs than Mayfield and once he's mobile he could get easier yards if not contained, much like the other young quarterbacks on the Steelers' schedule. Allen currently has 430 rushing yards and 8 rushing touchdowns on 93 carries while Jackson has 977 yards and 7 touchdowns on 140 carries.
Murray is in between both of them with 446 yards and four touchdowns 71 carries. Murray is a considerable mobile threat, but he's nothing like Jackson. Although Jackson rushed for 70 yards in the Ravens' 26-23 overtime win over the Steelers, it took 14 carries and produced his third lowest rushing average on the season at five yards per carry.
That game featured usable notes on how the Steelers can keep Murray from using his feet to beat them. Outside contain is important, but the Steelers also have to ensure gap integrity in between the tackles as well. If they become too aggressive on the edges and open space in the middle, Murray can find short easy gains like this 8-yard run by Jackson:
Murray has a very strong arm, but he's still developing consistency and hasn't found a reliable target to break open the Cardinals' offense. The Steelers should focus on making sure Murray has to win with his arm to move the ball. They showed the ability to maintain gap integrity across the board against Jackson, which may be part of the blueprint to keeping Murray contained.
Watch how both Watt and Bud Dupree rush off the edges while Cam Heyward and Stephon Tuitt plug up the middle. Those four collapse the pocket while Vince Williams stunts around Heyward to get a shot to finish off Jackson:
Murray isn't as dangerous as Jackson, but he isn't to be underestimated. He's also not surrounded by nearly the supporting cast that Jackson or Allen have on either side of the ball. This would be a solid opportunity for the Steelers to perform well against such a quarterback before having to face Allen or Jackson along with their teams that are in playoff contention.
Watch for how the Steelers contain Murray, because it could be a sign of how they play in the home stretch of this season.
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