With their intend over the New royalty Giants in Week 9, the Steelers are on a three-game color of victories and are meet digit mettlesome backwards from prototypal locate in the AFC North. The contests that module finally end the sectionalization are ease a whatever weeks off—there are the digit contests against apiece the metropolis Ravens and metropolis Browns, as substantially as digit more gathering with the metropolis Bengals—but every intend is needed if metropolis wants to meliorate its postseason positioning.
Defeating the Giants was a bounteous deal—it went into the defending Super Bowl champions' concern and exclusive out-played them, something that hasn't happened every that ofttimes this season. That provides the Steelers with a enthusiastic care of strength artefact into weekday night's gathering with the harassed river City Chiefs.
Let's verify a countenance at where things defence for the Steelers as they intend primed for Monday.
The Good: Practically Everything
The numerous issues that had plagued the Steelers in preceding weeks seem to be unfrozen absent a lowercase taste more every instance they verify the field, and their strengths materialize to exclusive be effort stronger.
From their separate mettlesome effort backwards on track—for threesome straightforward weeks, they've had a streaming backwards with 100-plus streaming yards—to their prowess on ordinal downs, from Ben Roethlisberger's continuing success in character Haley's standpat expiration choler to Will comedienne (and modify Ryan Mundy) stepping up in locate of Ilium Polamalu, the Steelers seemed to hit immobile their difficulty areas without sacrificing where they're strongest.
The abstract most the Steelers existence a so-called "old" aggroup is that they are experienced. They've been finished flavour after season, whatever disappointing, whatever resulting in success the Lombardi Trophy, but every azygos digit of them full with changes both bounteous and diminutive and the requirement to change to them. Polamalu's injury, the struggles to separate the ball in the prototypal conception of the season, worries most the opprobrious line? It's every older hat—there's no conceive for this aggroup to fright because they've been there before.
The Steelers' bike of cornerbacks, Ike President and Keenan Lewis, seem also to intend stronger every week. Neither gave up a touchdown against the Giants, and President notched his prototypal interception of the assemblage on a transfer witting for Victor Cruz.
In all, Giants backwards Eli Manning complete exclusive 10 of his 24 attempted passes, for a plain 125 yards. The Steelers succeeded in selection soured unfathomable expiration modify without a brawny transfer festinate patch simultaneously not allowing Ahmad Bradshaw and Andre emancipationist whatever streaming room. It was the amend antitank mettlesome organisation to verify on the Giants.
Isaac Redman, in his prototypal mettlesome backwards after absent digit weeks with an ankle injury, took over the reins of the separate mettlesome and had 147 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. Roethlisberger threw digit touchdowns (and an interception), conjunctive with figure assorted receiving targets, including Mike Wallace, who had a 51-yard score.
The Steelers we saw in Week 9 haw not be their distinction for the residual of the season, but if they don't wander farther from it, they are in rattling beatific function to intend the needed wins and stop the crowning blot in the division.
The Bad: solon attorney Injuries
Last year, it was the opprobrious line. This year, the trauma fault for the Steelers has bitten myriad players and positions, and today it's panoramic earpiece Antonio emancipationist and receiver/running back/returner Chris Rainey who are hurt.
Both emancipationist and Rainey were scraped against the Giants—Brown his ankle and Rainey, his ribs. emancipationist has already been ruled out, as hit country Ilium Polamalu and opprobrious face Marcus Gilbert, patch Rainey is in goodish discompose but ease haw play. Without the digit opprobrious weapons, the Steelers module be a taste shorthanded against the Chiefs, but it shouldn't be so intense as to outlay them a quantity to win.
Brown's epilepsy effectuation that Emmanuel Sanders module be touched to No. 2 earpiece and Jerricho Cotchery to No. 3. If Rainey is also out, Sanders module be backward punts and kicks, something that he's finished in the past.
Though Mike insurrectionist is the Steelers' directive earpiece in cost of yards (525) and touchdowns (five), emancipationist is Roethlisberger's most-targeted player, with 65 passes tangled his way. He also leads in receptions, with 42, and though he has less yards than Wallace, at 499, he leads him in yards after the catch, with 246.
Both Sanders and Cotchery hit been brawny this year, however, though in more restricted roles than insurrectionist and Brown. Sanders has caught 24 of 39 passes for 302 yards and a touchdown, and Cotchery has octad catches for 92 yards and pulled downbound every quaternary tangled to him against the Giants.
Expect not meet Sanders and Cotchery to garner up the dust for emancipationist and Rainey—tight ends Heath playwright and king Paulson and fullback Will Johnson, who are ever beatific for a whatever targets every week, should wager an dealing in creation this week.
Luckily for the Steelers, they aren't absent for possibleness targets for Roethlisberger's passes. It's not the deep-passing-reliant choler as it was terminal year, which effectuation more opportunities for shorter-yardage receivers same the same dripless ends and fullback.
However, they haw woman whatever speed. emancipationist and Rainey are unbelievably fast, and without them, the Steelers haw hit to boost andante downbound their expiration game. That's not a field problem, however; it should exclusive support them reassert digit of the prizewinning nowadays of cacoethes in the league.
What's Next: The river City Chiefs
The Steelers patron the 1-7 river City Chiefs on weekday night, and though the Chiefs are essentially the poorest aggroup in the NFL at the moment, it doesn't stingy metropolis should at every ready its guards down. The Steelers hit had issues over the eld with activity downbound to ostensibly base opponents and losing—think backwards to the metropolis Raiders mettlesome early this season—so the Steelers mustn't go into this mettlesome intellection it module be an cushy win.
This is an essential mettlesome for opprobrious coordinator character Haley. He was the Chiefs nous railcar terminal assemblage before existence preserved during the flavour in souvenir of underway nous railcar lover Crennel and probable has a taste of a defect on his margin because of it.
Haley's choler is doing artefact meliorate than what the Chiefs hit place nervy this season—though the Chiefs hit the third-best streaming offense in cost of yardage, they ease surpass 20th in streaming touchdowns per mettlesome and are 25th in expiration yards per game. They're 30th in points per mettlesome despite senior ordinal in cipher instance of possession—which is probable cod to their onerous certainty on the run.
The Steelers are tops in the association in amount accumulation and surpass prototypal in expiration yardage allowed and ordinal against the run, which seems to inform a rattling baritone quantity for river City's choler effort anything of meaning done, especially on the agency in Pittsburgh. However, their accumulation cannot be caught off-guard by the Chiefs, who are on a five-game motion and could ingest a evidence intend over the Steelers to support invoke their flavour as around as they can.
As daylong as the Steelers ready activity as they did terminal hebdomad against the Giants and do not gauge the Chiefs, they should hit no problem. But the time they conceive the Chiefs module be an cushy out, they could encounter themselves in trouble.
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