The Steelers' 17-10 loss to the Bills Sunday night at Heinz Field featured several factors that kept them one score from pulling off another win with their undrafted rookie quarterback, Devlin Hodges.
His throwing four interceptions among the team's five turnovers was the biggest obstacle for the team's second half comeback attempts, but much of that came because the Steelers abandoned the running game after 51 yards on 15 carries during the game.
I'll get into Randy Fichtner later this week, but the Steelers lost the trench war that I wrote they needed to win to pull this game off. Hodges couldn't be expected to win this game without a strong showing from the offensive line, and they had one of their worst days of 2019:
Maurkice Pouncey has been a great center for the Steelers over the ten seasons he's been on the team. But a weakness he and Ramon Foster have always shared has been against huge defensive tackles dominating their gap. This was why the health of Bills defensive tackle Jordan Phillips was a major story going into the game.
Phillips led the Bills with 7.5 sacks on the season coming into the game and increased that to 9.5 sacks against the Steelers. But it wasn't just his pass rush that troubled the Steelers, it was his domination of the interior gaps.
Watch this run by James Conner, where the Steelers do a good job at most spots against the Bills. David DeCastro walls off Star Lotulelei, Pouncey goes and blocks linebacker Matt Milano, and even rookie tight end Zach Gentry gets a hat on Tremaine Edmunds.
So where does the play break down for just a two yard gain? Where Phillips bullies Foster and by shoving him back to disengage and then bringing down Conner just as he was about to accelerate:
This was where the Steelers had to neutralize a strength for the Bills. They didn't have to completely own the trenches, but at least make sure the Bills didn't clog up rushing holes all game. Conner ran the ball eight times for 42 yards, but gained 32 of those yards on two carries where the Steelers won the line of scrimmage.
On the other thirteen runs by the Steelers last night, they gained only 19 yards for an average of 1.5 yards per carry.
Yikes.
Watch how this power run to Conner gets blown up. The Steelers pull Foster to lead block against Edmunds, but Phillips just swims around Pouncey to help blow up the play with Taron Johnson for no gain:
That kept happening all night when the Steelers ran the ball. It doesn't mean the Steelers should have abandoned the run, but it does take away the one reliable part of the offense the Steelers thought they might have going into a big game.
The Bills also dominated with the pass rush this game as the Steelers only managed one sack on Josh Allen while the Bills sacked Hodges four times. Even when the Bills weren't sacking Hodges, the Steelers looked outmatched when having to deal with the Bills' overloading the middle of the line.
Watch this pressure from Edmunds up A-gap. Pouncey has to deal with Ed Oliver, a future wrecking ball in the NFL and the ninth overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft, which means he has to be expected to be busy. Edmunds shows blitz right behind Oliver and Foster never checks his interior gap, giving Edmunds a free lane to Hodges who has to throw the pass away:
The line's lackluster performance against the Bills isn't a death knell to the season, but it is indicative of the more obvious problems people will point to with the Steelers' offense.
The one reliable position group on this unit is supposed to be the linemen, where their starters' average age is 30 years old. The Steelers' available quarterbacks average age is 24 years, running backs 23 years, receivers 24.5 years, and tight ends 26 years.
If the Steelers can't rely on their most experienced group to pull their offense through the toughest of games, it may be the obstacle that ends the Steelers' impressive 2019 run in the face of all the hardships they've endured.
MORE CLASSROOM
Dec. 13: Offense's fate on the line
Dec. 12: Hilton’s case to stay
Dec. 11: Johnson’s X-factor
Dec. 10: Whyte, Cain bring the lightning
