Three keys to victory for the Washington Football Team vs. Steelers
3. Get Ben Roethlisburger out of rhythm
According to Next Gen Stats Ben Roethlisberger gets the ball out of his hands on average at 2.28 seconds after receiving the snap. That is the quickest in the NFL. This is a complete turnaround for Roethlisberger, as he is usually the quarterback in the NFL keeping the ball in his hands the longest.
No, this isn’t due to a weak offensive line. Roethlisberger is coming off an injury and isn’t as mobile as he once was. With an improved receiving core, the Steelers have revamped their offense to be centered around quick passes. They want to get the ball to their playmakers, like rookie Chase Claypool, second-year receiver Diontae Johnson and star receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster in space and let them make plays.
It is clear Pittsburgh is doing their best to prevent the number of hits Roethlisberger takes. When Roethlisberger has faced more pressure, like on Wednesday against the Ravens, he has not been as productive.
The Washington Football Team defense is a unit that has played a soft zone in the previous weeks. A bend but don’t break defense. It has worked, somewhat, in the past two weeks.
Against the Steelers, however, I don’t think it will work. Roethlisberger will pick apart this defense and methodically work his way down the field. Jack Del Rio, like Scott Turner, will have to be creative. Draw up some more blitzes than normal and play more man-to-man to make Roethlisberger have to hold the ball a tad longer.
That added time will allow this defensive line to get to the quarterback. Make Roethlisberger hold the ball a little longer and guys like Chase Young and Montez Sweat will have a field day. Roethlisberger is not the same as he used to be athletically, a significant advantage for the two uber-athletic Washington defensive ends.
He is a sitting duck back there. Throw Pittsburgh off their game usual game plan and get to Roethlisberger.
Next. Analyzing the WFT defense and how good it is. dark
If the Washington Football Team avoids a bad start, has a creative plan on offense and makes Ben Roethlisberger uncomfortable then they set themselves up well to pull off the upset victory.