Silencing Miami ground machine is priority for Steelers
PITTSBURGH 无毛视频� No loss is ever wanted, let alone good, but some are more easily explained than others. Take, for example, the Steelers.
During the course of the regular season, which concluded with Sunday无毛视频檚 27-24 win in overtime over Cleveland, the Steelers were dealt just five losses.
Two of those losses 无毛视频� Week 7 vs. New England and Week 10 vs. Dallas 无毛视频� were against the eventual No. 1 seeds in the AFC and NFC, respectively. Even though the Steelers had ample opportunity to win both games, there无毛视频檚 no shame in losing to either team, right?
Then, there are historic trends and rivalries to consider. The Steelers无毛视频� Week 3 loss to the Eagles was their ninth in a row to Philadelphia, a city where they haven无毛视频檛 won in over half a century. The Steelers无毛视频� Week 9 loss at Baltimore had been their fourth in a row to the Ravens, a bitter division rival that had Pittsburgh无毛视频檚 number right up until the final :09 of Week 16.
But then there was the afternoon of Oct. 16 at Miami无毛视频檚 Hard Rock Stadium, the only outlier in the Steelers无毛视频� losses this season.
Only with the benefit of hindsight does Week 6 begin to not look so bad.
The Steelers were beaten 30-15 in a game that wasn无毛视频檛 as close as the score would indicate. The loss started the Steelers on a four-game losing streak that spanned 35 days and threatened to derail a promising season.
And it was the afternoon most of western Pennsylvania spent Googling 无毛视频淛ay Ajayi?无毛视频�
无毛视频淗e definitely surprised me,无毛视频� said Steelers linebacker Tyler Matakevich, who无毛视频檚 eight tackles were a team-high against Miami. 无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 a hard, physical runner. I definitely think this time, we无毛视频檒l be ready for him.无毛视频�
The Steelers better hope so.
Obviously, the Steelers have come a long way since mid-October. After making necessary adjustments, such as playing their youngsters on defense and relying heavily on Le无毛视频橵eon Bell in the run game, the Steelers will enter Sunday无毛视频檚 rematch against the Dolphins in the AFC Wild Card game riding a seven-game winning streak. When the Steelers last played the Dolphins, it was the first game without Cam Heyward. Ryan Shazier, Bud Dupree and Marcus Gilbert were sidelined with injuries and Ben Roethlisberger missed five snaps after sustaining what was later revealed to be a torn meniscus.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e going to find out here real soon how big of an improvement that we无毛视频檝e made,无毛视频� said safety Mike Mitchell.
But the Dolphins have improved as well.
Entering Week 6 against Pittsburgh, Miami limped in with a 1-4 record, their lone win coming against Cleveland. Since then, the Dolphins have gone 9-2, taking the No. 6 seed and the second wild card spot in the AFC.
And Ajayi, that non-descript, 2015 fifth-rounder out of Boise State, who gouged the Steelers for 204 yards (8.16 per carry), the third-most yards allowed by Pittsburgh? Well, he无毛视频檚 since burned other teams too.
Ajayi has gone on to become just one of four players to rush for 200-plus yards three times in a season. The others are Buffalo无毛视频檚 O.J Simpson in his record-breaking 1973 season, Houston无毛视频檚 Earl Campbell in 1980 and the New York Giants无毛视频� Tiki Barber in 2005.
This season, Ajayi finished fourth in rushing yards (1,272) and yards per game (84.8) and seventh in yards per carry (4.9). Those numbers are comparable to those posted by Le无毛视频橵eon Bell 无毛视频� 1,268, 105.7 and 5.4 无毛视频� on the same amount of carries (261).
无毛视频淐oach Tomlin无毛视频檚 already said we无毛视频檝e got to stop the run and run the ball,无毛视频� Matakevich said. 无毛视频淲e have to do our job to stop the run.无毛视频�
The Steelers are confident Bell should be able to run the ball in Sunday无毛视频檚 wild card against a 30th-ranked Miami run defense, which is allowing 140.0 yards per game. The question is whether their defense can stop, or at least minimize, Ajayi. The Steelers无毛视频� run defense, good for much of their winning streak, has sprung a few leaks the past two games. Pittsburgh无毛视频檚 run defense has fallen to 13th, giving up 100 yards per game, after allowing 353 yards the past two weeks in wins against the Ravens and Browns.
No offense to Kenneth Dixon and Isaiah Crowell, but Ajayi is an upgrade to both. If the Steelers are to get to Kansas City or New England, they must first silence the Miami ground machine.
无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 the best thing about sports, right?无毛视频� said defensive end Stephon Tuitt, who should play Sunday after missing the past two games with a knee injury. 无毛视频淵ou may only know a person for a little bit, and then next thing you know that person is all blown up and you无毛视频檝e got the whole offensive line with him too. They无毛视频檝e got a great offensive line. They got guys that are willing to hit you.
无毛视频淭hey无毛视频檝e got a running back that is willing to hit the hole. When we无毛视频檙e going against an offensive line like this, we know we无毛视频檝e got to bring our A game, be physical, stop all the gaps to stop a hard runner like him that likes to run up the field. It should be difficult.无毛视频�