Coming off a loss in their home opener to the Las Vegas Raiders, what will the Pittsburgh Steelers do as they try to get back in the win column?
The Steelers woes against the Raiders continued in Week 2. Derek Carr dropped 382 passing yards on the Steelers defense, which was too much to overcome in their 26-17 loss to Las Vegas.
Pittsburgh will remain at Heinz Field for Week 3 as they take on their division-rival Cincinnati Bengals. Will Pittsburgh get on track, or will they drop their second consecutive game? Here are five bold predictions for the Steelers against the Bengals.
The Steelers will finally run the ball
The Steelers run game is still abysmal, but the blame does not fall on Najee Harris. Pittsburgh doesn’t attempt to run the ball. Harris had only 10 carries against the Raiders for 38 yards.
While Pittsburgh did get him involved in the pass game, which included his first career touchdown this past weekend, the Steelers need to establish a ground attack. Ten carries spread across four quarters is nowhere near enough to get a running back into a rhythm.
Although the offensive line is inconsistent, but they drafted tight end Pat Freiermuth and center Kendrick Green for a reason. Both have been really good at run blocking thus far.
Matt Canada has to understand that yes, there will be plays that get blown up and don’t look good- keep pounding the ball through it. That’s been the Steelers biggest problem over the last few seasons. They’ll run the ball once, gain two yards, and then completely abandon it all together.
This offense is far too one dimensional, much like it was last year. You selected Harris in the first round for a reason; use him.
