Steelers @ Lions
Final Score: Lions 24 – Steelers 17
Writer: Chris Helle (@ChrisHelleQBL on Twitter)
The same story continues with the Steelers beginning the game with their starters but losing to their opponent’s backups. Russell Wilson started the game for Pittsburgh with a 60-yard touchdown drive in just 5 plays, but that ended his day. After their defense recovered a sack-fumble, Justin Fields‘ first drive also found the endzone, and he played two more drives before handing the reigns off to Kyle Allen. For the Lions, Hendon Hooker struggled through most of this game, but some credit is due for putting together back-to-back TD drives to tie the game before halftime. Despite a missed field goal and an interception, the Lions’ defense kept them in the game by holding the Steelers to just a single field goal in the second half. Hooker’s final touchdown drive put them in the lead, and Jake Fromm came in to close it out.
Three Up
- Justin Fields – It felt like Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith enjoyed having Fields’ mobility to work with, running more play-action and RPOs – a far less vanilla offense than when Russ was on the field.
- Maurice Alexander – Caught every ball thrown his way, even when the ball was thrown a few feet over his head. Helping in the run game with a nice crack block, as well as his special teams reps, showed off what makes Alexander a valuable asset for the Lions.
- Jake Fromm – While he only played the last two drives, Fromm was efficient in the air and closed out the game to cement the win.
Three Down
- Hendon Hooker – Veteran Nate Sudfeld did not play, likely indicating Hooker is fighting to make the roster. Running may be his primary skill, but he took more than a few sacks due to his inability to feel pressure or get through his progression. Fromm coming in and reliably closing out the win does not bode well for Hooker’s position on the roster.
- Kyle Allen – With almost all of his yards coming from a single completion, the few takeaways from his play were not to his benefit. John Rhys Plumlee proved to be an acceptable option, and his athleticism allows Smith to mimic the play-calling similar to when Fields is in the game.
- Donovan Peoples-Jones – No receptions on any of his three targets. Poor technique coming out of his breaks nearly resulted in an interception. Meanwhile, Maurice Alexander showed out.
Steelers
Quarterback
Russell Wilson: 2/2, 26 Yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
As you may tell from the stat line, the 60-yard touchdown drive mostly came on the ground. Both completions were to George Pickens, one of which was a bubble screen that lost a few yards. With the time and space to sit in the pocket, he landed a 32-yard strike over the middle.
Justin Fields: 3/4, 40 Yards, 0 TD, 0 INT | 2 Carries, 4 Yards
Trying not to read too much into Fields playing three drives compared to Russ’s one, Fields made the right decision on every RPO and kept the mistakes at bay. His lone incompletion wasn’t the best throw, but it was catchable and dropped by Scotty Miller.
Notes
- All 3 of his completions came off play-action, 2 of which were on the move and connected with Van Jefferson. The other was an impressive layered throw over a linebacker to hit MyCole Pruitt for 22 yards to get to the 2-yard line.
- Seeing the LB crashing in, he kept the ball on a read option to convert on a 3rd & short.
- Showed good fundamentals during his time in the pocket, albeit with a limited sampling.
- Communicated with his linemen when recognizing potential blitzes.
Missed Opportunities
- A designed QB run from the 2 was inches from crossing the goal line. Fields then slow-played the ensuing read-option to hold the defender at bay, allowing La’Mical Perine space to punch in the touchdown.
- A miscommunication with the line led to the center snapping the ball while he wasn’t looking. Fields recovered the ball and nearly escaped the grasp of the first defender if it weren’t for the swarm of 3 more bringing him down.
Kyle Allen: 3/5, 68 Yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 1 Fumble Lost | 1 Carry, -1 Yard
A perfect example of how stats can be deceiving – almost all of the passing yards from Allen came on one throw down the sideline to Dez Fitzpatrick for 59 yards. It was a perfect ball, right in the breadbasket, and a decent run after the catch. That might be the only good play to take away from his game today, and Allen played over half the game. He showed signs of tunnel vision, taking too long to get the ball out resulting in sacks (one of which was the lost fumble), dangerous high throws over the middle of the field, and generally making it hard for his receivers to bring in the catch.
John Rhys Plumlee: 3/4, 32 Yards, 0 TD, 0 INT | 1 Carry, 4 Yards
Plumlee was the featured punt and kick returner throughout the game, and came in to relieve Allen for the last two drives. Canada returned to calling similar read options and play-action passes that were called for Fields earlier in the game. A catchable ball but a failed attempt at an unnecessary one-hander resulted in his only incompletion. Down a touchdown, they went for it on 4-and-short and Plumlee connected a deep pass to Quez Watkin, but the play was unfortunately called back by an intelligible man downfield penalty.
Running Back
Najee Harris: 1 Carry, 5 Yards
The well-known starter played just the single, first play of the game.
Cordarrelle Patterson: 3 Carries, 31 Yards, 1 TD
While his other two carries resulted in no gains, Patterson did break off a 31-yard run where he made a nice cut to evade the safety and score the first touchdown of the game.
La’Mical Perine: 6 Carries, 16 Yards, 1 TD
Perine’s touchdown was a 1-yard punch-in, mostly creditable to Fields slow-playing the mesh. Outside of an 11-yard gain where he bounced off the congested group of linemen to find open space, Perine struggled to showcase his full skillset.
Aaron Shampklin: 7 Carries, 13 Yards
Shampklin entered the game alongside Fields on the third drive and saw a decent snap share. He was mostly limited by his struggling offensive line.
Jonathon Ward: 1 Carry, 3 Yards
Daijun Edwards: 2 Carries, 3 Yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Dez Fitzpatrick: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 64 Yards
The speedy receiver brought in an explosive 59-yard reception and showed his YAC-ability.
George Pickens: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 26 Yards
The clear #1 option only played the first drive. He nearly evaded the defender on a bubble screen, but his elbow hit the ground before his run thereafter. He made up for it on a 32-yard grab over the middle the following play.
MyCole Pruitt: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 22 Yards
Bringing in a nice throw from Fields, Priutt nearly found the endzone on his only catch of the day.
Van Jefferson: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 18 Yards
Jefferson was visibly shaken up after his second catch of the day and did not return to the field for the remainder of the game. It was a high-speed collision hit to his lower back, likely just a bruiser.
Scotty Miller: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 9 Yards
Jaray Jenkins: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 17 Yards
Quez Watkins: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 10 Yards
Conner Heyward: 1 Target, 0 Receptions
Jacob Copeland: 1 Target, 0 Receptions
Lions
Quarterback
Hendon Hooker: 12/20 114 Yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1 Fumble Lost | 10 Carries, 93 Yards
With veteran Nate Sudfeld not playing, Hooker started the game for the Lions and played the first three quarters for the opportunity to show he is a viable candidate to keep in a crowded quarterback room. Struggling early, Hooker took a few sacks due to indecisiveness and inability to feel incoming pressure. He eventually unleashed his run game, extending plays and scrambling for big gains, but a few inaccurate throws will make it hard for the coaches to view him as a reliable option.
Notes
- When he’s forced out of the pocket, Hooker does show the ability to keep his eyes downfield; however, he elects to keep the ball in his hands and get a respectable gain on his own more often than not.
- Despite being a mobile quarterback, he tends to stay in the pocket too long and is unaware of incoming pressure. A few times, the pocket collapsed around him and he moved straight forward into more pressure rather than finding space to either side.
- His touchdown throw was to Jake Funk, a short pass to the flat that wasn’t very well thrown but brought in for the score nonetheless.
Missed Opportunities
- A mere 5-yard crossing route from Donovan Peoples-Jones went incomplete because the ball was thrown at his feet.
- One of his scrambles was an elusive run, making good moves through traffic before being brought down just short of the goal line.
- Hooker was not to blame for his recorded interception. Isaiah Williams slowed up coming out of the break on a deep in, which left what would have been an accurate strike to go sailing by and into the arms of the awaiting safety.
Jake Fromm: 6/8 89 Yards, 0 TD, 0 INT | 2 Carries, -2 Yards
Fromm was brought in at the end of the game, with the Lions already up 21-17, to close out the win. He immediately led an 11-play drive that set up a field goal, which were the last points scored from either team. He connected both pass attempts on the final drive to get first downs and eat Pittsburgh’s timeouts to close it out.
Running Back
Sione Vaki: DNP
Wearing sweats alongside the rest of the Lion’s starters, the obvious takeaway is that Vaki appears to have cemented himself as the third back behind Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery.
Jermar Jefferson: 9 Carries, 29 Yards, 2 TDs
An efficient game despite his limited snap share. A short punch-in touchdown tied the game at 14 in the first half, and his second took the lead in the fourth quarter. Jefferson made impressive cuts through traffic en route to his second touchdown and broke multiple potential tackles-for-loss.
Jake Funk: 10 Carries, 40 Yards | 4 Targets, 1 Reception, 2 Yards, 1 TD
Funk is typically a downhill runner, but his touchdown today came from the air. He played the entirety of this game, though was fairly inefficient. His longest run of the day was 15 yards, and Funk only brought in one of the four balls thrown his way. Yes, it was for a touchdown, but it was a simple 2-yard flare out of the backfield to the flat. He could have had another receiving touchdown on a wheel route, but drifted away toward the sideline and couldn’t readjust to make the catch.
Zonovan Knight: 10 Carries, 27 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 8 Yards
A very underwhelming showing from Knight, who also split snaps with Funk for the full game. His longest run of the day was only 6 yards, and much of the credit for that can go to Maurice Alexander for sealing the edge with a great crack-block.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Maurice Alexander: 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 60 Yards
The highlight of the day was a leaping grab on a high-thrown ball that Alexander climbed the ladder to bring down, ran for an additional 10 yards, and then received an extra 15 from a horsecollar tackle. Alexander also got reps in as a punt returner but was limited to fair catches and letting the ball land out of bounds. At one point he did get away with what was actually a fumble, but was called down on the field and a quick snap prevented a challenge.
Shane Zylstra: 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 29 Yards
Zylstra is fighting with James Mitchell to be the second in line behind Sam Laporta. Being the better pass catcher of the two worked in his favor, and a strong stiff arm to gain extra yards after a catch rounded out an importantly solid game from the 27-year-old.
Jalon Calhoun: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 37 Yards
His two receptions came on back-to-back plays, where his size was utilized as he worked the seams for respectable gains.
Isaiah Williams: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 17 Yards
Proving to be an explosive asset for special teams, Isaiah Williams also got work as a wideout. While he did register a catch for 17 yards, he also slowed up on a separate deep in-route which left the ball sailing past him and into the arms of the safety.
Donovan Peoples-Jones: 3 Targets, 0 Receptions, 0 Yards
One of the incompletions was thrown at his feet, but Peoples-Jones looked lethargic in and out of his breaks. One target was nearly picked off due to his sloppy curl route, leaving an alley for the defender to undercut the throw. He also missed a block on a screen to Zylstra.
Kaden Davis: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 27 Yards
Tom Kennedy: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 9 Yards
Sean McKeon: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 14 Yards
Daurice Fountain: 1 Target, 0 Receptions, 0 Yards
James Mitchell: 1 Target, 0 Receptions, 0 Yards