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About an hour ago
This is the match we all expected to see.
The force easily resistible compared to the highly mobile object.
Also known as the current game of the Cincinnati Bengals anemic against the defense against the Steelers' escape.
This will be the match between two teams with a combined record from 0 to 6.
I know. I can not wait either.
The Steelers' defense against the race is 27th in the NFL, allowing 139.3 yards per game. Meanwhile, the Bengals are the last in the league with an average of 41.7 yards per game and an average of 2.4 yards per run.
Something must give!
And if the Steelers lose, it could be Pittsburgh's patience.
A recurrent theme in the Steelers-Bengals rivalry was the Steelers' superiority in the ground game. There have been 13 clashes since forward Le'Veon Bell and Giovani Bernard were recruited by their respective teams in the second round in 2013.
Over the period, the Steelers averaged 106.2 yards rushing per game against the Bengals, while Cincinnati averaged 86.8 yards per game against Pittsburgh.
To accentuate this difference, in many of these games, Bengals are often successful in throwing during the run but do not stick to it effectively.
Look at Joe Mixon as an example. He averaged 6.61 yards per attempt against the Steelers, but only 62.8 yards per game in his four fights against them.
As for Bernard, he played 10 times against the Steelers. He has averaged 4.2 yards per run, but only 25.7 yards per game against the Black and Gold.
Mixon is an interesting case in this game. It was barely used during the first two weeks of the season, totaling a mere 27 yards on 17 rushes. But against Buffalo last week, new coach Zac Taylor seemed to discover his half-offensive, giving him 17 touchdowns for a total of 94 rushing yards.
Given the way the Steelers were hit by the Seattle and San Francisco counterparts, it should be assumed that Taylor would be tempted to give a strong dose of Mixon to the Steelers on Monday night.
"Too often, the stack has been reduced forward," said Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, referring to the Steelers' defense against the race this year. "It's a better technique. It's more physical to take blocks to minimize the vertical holes so there is no more space at the end of the game. Too often (in the San Francisco match), the backs could fall forward . "
Tomlin pointed out that the problem is not the quality of the wrestlers, but rather the way in which their defenders fight blockers and minimize space.
The offensive line of the Bengals faces many injuries. Jonah Williams misses his rookie season with a torn labrum. Cordy Glenn is in concussion protocol since the pre-season. Andre Smith and goalkeeper Michael Jordan were also injured this year.
However, the Steelers failed to properly exploit some alternate players and some fragile offensive fronts in each of the first three games.
"The integrity of the gaps is important," said defensive captain Cameron Heyward. "We have to set the tone. We have to go out blocks. You must be in your space. Too often we play the ball of heroes and try to do too much. "
Did Heyward criticize the general stuffing technique on the fly?
Not using their hands enough has been a factor. Heyward noted that the team tended to swim too much in the blocks and, as a result, washed out too often. The front must also show more honesty in the race instead of focusing exclusively on putting oneself in the running position.
Defensive line and outside linebackers are not all concerned. Internal linebackers have not been able to get rid of tackles or fill gaps.
But as Heyward said this week, he would break the finger of anyone who directed him to another player, given the seriousness of the team.
It's not a question of "who" or "how". It's just a question of "may".
Can the Steelers finally stop the race against a team that is generally unable to perform the task in this regard?
"Stop this damn race," T.J. Watt grumbled at the question of improvements needed for the defense this week. "It's number one. Stop the race.
It's easier said than done, T.J. If the Steelers have proven anything this year, that's it.
It is now time to prove that they can be the defense that the franchise envisioned when this team was built in the offseason.
Tim Benz is an editor of Tribune-Review. You can contact Tim at [email protected] or via Twitter. All tweets could be republished. All emails are subject to publication unless otherwise noted.
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