The defense hung in with the Steelers up until the end, but they are going to have to step it up as they move on to more the hard matchups waiting for them this season. “That’s the way to make them right and make a play”.
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Even without targets like the retired Heath Miller, Ladarius Green (ankle) and Martavis Bryant (suspension) in 2016, Roethlisberger opened the season on a strong note once again, finishing Week 1 against Washington with 27 completions for 300 yards, three touchdowns and one interception on a modest 37 pass attempts. That’s a subpar passer rating of 72.7. “And so there’s a balance there of you don’t want to take a lot of sacks – that’ll kill drives just like penalties and turnovers – but at the same time, you take no sacks, maybe there’s an extreme there where you’re not extending plays, not trying to create a little bit”. “I know he felt good about his circumstance after the game, but we will let the medical experts determine that and his status”, Tomlin said. Until we get that run game figured out, we’re going to have problems.
The obvious answer to the last part – and one that’s been a popular discussion over the past 12 hours – is that it never should have happened: Norman, who lined up on a side of the field, not against one a specific player, should have covered Brown, the best receiver in the league. “That’s what we need to do”.
“We have to create more disruption”, Tomlin said. He expects us to go out there and be physical.
“The ball was on the ground and Pounce was kind of laying on it and I was trying to tell Pouncey it was right under his leg”, Roethlisberger said. If it’s the Bengals, a second win in the conference would offer a potential boost to their seeding come playoff time. Instead, Norman got into a first-quarter scuffle on the Washington sidelines with teammate and fellow defensive back David Bruton Jr. The Redskins’ opening possession looked promising until Cousins, with plenty of time, threw short to Jordan Reed, who fought his way for 13 yards. It appeared like he was going to be the help they needed on the line.
Blaine Gabbert threw for one touchdown, as the 49ers scored three rushing touchdowns, including two from Carlos Hyde in the shutout.
Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier intercepted Kirk Cousins in the third quarter and followed it with a nifty 51-yard return the other way to the Redskins’ 10-yard line.
Shazier also has played a major role in the rivalry with the Bengals, including knocking Cincinnati running back Giovani Bernard out of last year’s AFC wild-card game with a vicious hit. It went for 33 yards to DeSean Jackson, Washington’s longest play of the game, when the speedster ended up isolated against overmatched safety Mike Mitchell. The Steelers defensive backs are young and may be good someday.
– Preston Smith was getting pressure last night, and aside from Kerrigan’s strip-fumble, he was about the only one doing so.
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When previewing the upcoming matchup against the Bengals Tomlin made it clear that he wasn’t going to talk about any previous games, players or events.
