Steelers’ Defensive Issues from Newer Aggressive Plan? | Aaron Rodgers in Red Zone Real or Mirage?

Steelers’ Defensive Issues from Newer Aggressive Plan? | Aaron Rodgers in Red Zone Real or Mirage?

Are the Steelers defense running a new defense this year? That’s what it sounds like when we talk to guys in the locker room despite them having the same defensive coordinator. I’m Chris Carter. This is the Locked On Steelers podcast. We’ll talk about that with Nick Farah. Let’s get into it. [Music] You are Locked On Steelers. Your daily Pittsburgh Steelers podcast. Part of the Locked On podcast network. your team every day. Hello and welcome to the Lockdown Steelers podcast. I’m your host Chris Carter bringing you your daily dose of all things in the Pittsburgh Steelers. As always, you can find the show on your favorite podcasting apps and on YouTube. Like this video if you enjoy it. Subscribe to this YouTube channel to get all of your daily Monday through Friday episodes as well as our bonus content. We thank you for making us your first listen every day because we’re your team every day. And today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 back in bonus bets to use across the app. We’ll have more on FanDuel later. As I said before, we’re joined by the man himself, Nick Faraboff from penlive.com. You know, you love him. He’s the Steelers beat reporter over there. Nick, you and I got in the Steelers locker room Monday. It was a chatty locker room, you know, and I think even more so than the Jets win. Uh sometimes after a loss, they’re very quiet, but there was a lot of chatter and not just about, oh man, we’re happy we won, but about, hey, we have a lot to clean up. And that was something that we gathered, especially on the defensive side of the ball, even with their five turnover game. Yeah, it was weird when I went in the locker room like after the the immediate game after in Foxboro. It was like not it didn’t feel like a win, right? It didn’t feel like a loss, but it felt like, yeah, this is a win that we know we could have played better and we should have won by more with five turnovers, right? Like I think that’s the feeling. And it’s interesting. I think there’s a a lot of optimism in certain areas and then there’s others where the guys are like that obviously needs work, right? Like the run defense against running backs way better this week. Um, but then again, the third down struggles and some of the pass defense struggles, those popped up. You love the opportunistic defense, but there’s there’s like a give and a take, right? Same with the offense. Like in terms of downto-down success wasn’t necessarily there, but the red zone offense and the short yardage really good. Like there’s a lot of positives and then there’s a negative offset. And that’s kind of what it felt like. And so I think this team is trying to kind of round itself into form and learn while winning. And that’s always a good thing if you can do it. you can win while you’re not playing at 100% then you can get up to your agame and start to really really kind of kick it into high gear. That’s a different story and that gets you up the playoff rankings fairly quickly if you can do that. Absolutely. I think that’s definitely what’s happening on defense right now. You and I have talked about this off camera, but when we when we argue with Steelers fans who say this is just the same defense, they’re just doing the same things. They’re not being they’re trying anything new. You’re not watching tape if you’re saying that. They’re trying different blitzes, different run fits, different coverages, different mixes up with blitzes and coverages. And a lot of that’s because of the new personnel that they’ve switched in. Guys like Jaylen Ramsey, guys like Darius Slay, even now you’re getting guys like Julius Peppers, Chuck Clark, Juan Thomp, there’s so many new pieces to this defense. But with that, they’re take it’s taking some time for them to adjust to a lot of the things even for guys who were on the team last year like Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson as far as doing one thing doing something that they’re used to they’re supposed to do on this defense. and also meshing that with things that they did well and earlier in their careers. A defensive coordinator like Terara Austin, your job is to incorporate not just the schematics that you want, but incorporate those schematics in a way that favor the skills and talents of players as individuals, but it’s also very difficult when you have guys that have wide ranging skill sets that to to mesh those. Sometimes the best defensive coordinators, they are able to put it together, but it takes time to do that, Nick. I I think that’s been a part of the Steelers challenge as far as putting together a complete defensive performance early on this season. Yeah, the new blitzes are different. The fronts they’re using, they’re doing disguises up front. Pton Wilson talked about that. They were able to kind of get into the cat and mouse game in training camp with Rogers, but trying to kind of feel it out in game and actually communicate with one another is totally different in a live field. And this was another thing I talked with Jaylen Ramsey after the game in Foxboro and I was like because they were moving around more on the back end, right? you know, they were showing cover one and then they were going into cover two or they were doing vice versa, whatever. And so they were rotating more whereas the first week they kind of just stood there and played their usual stuff. They played cover three. If it was quarters, they were going to play quarters. It wasn’t a lot of movement pre- snap. But this week they were like moving around a lot. And Jaylen said, you know, with veterans like him and Jabro Peppers and Chuck Clark, they’re kind of able to do that. That’s not necessarily a coaching point. It’s more so like, hey, the players, we trust the players. Have the freedom. Move around as much as you want. try to confuse these quarterbacks and make them think. And so some of that is also these players trying to pick up on each other’s body language. This is what you like to do. This is what I like to do. How do we mesh those together? I mean, Jabril Peppers literally just got here 10 days ago, if even. So, um, so there’s a lot of different things working in there. Granted, I think the communication could be more fluid. Um, but I I do think we mentioned it will take time. I do think there are indicators that there could be upside to this defense and I mean they’re really good in early downs last week. Uh they gotten the Patriots into a ton of third and longs. They got the Seahawks into a ton of third and longs. I think the next step is how do you figure out the third and long defense? I think that’s going to be the big thing and how do they kind of play that off to get off the field in those situations. We both mentioned our conversations with Pton Wilson. Here is our back and forth with Pton Wilson uh where you’re going to hear me and Nick ask a lot of these questions. So, take a look to inside the Steelers locker room back on Monday when we talked to Steelers linebacker Peyton Wilson. You kind of picked up on what might be the issue on those third and longs for you guys. Is it communication? Is it kind of details and zones? What What do you guys kind of feel as um the way we play, we just all have to be on the line, you know? We we play when we’re in our zone coverages. When the quarterback’s looking runway, we have to be melting. We all have to be on the line. Um, I mean, they made some pretty good plays in New England on third and long, but just continuing to be tighter in our zones and understanding that I mean, if it’s third and 14, the receiver is going to stop at 13 yards, so might want to be there, but just know continuing to work it. Um, kind of like in the run game, just continuing to work it and get better at it. Be the same way there. When I talk to people about this defense, some people tell me like, “Oh, they’re they’re the it’s the same defense they did last year. Nothing’s changing.” But when I watch you guys, I see like more twists, more stunts, things come in different directions. Would you say that you guys are being a bit more aggressive this year and you guys are learning how to play that way? Yeah, I mean it’s cool because um you know you have the talent we have in here is surreal. Everybody knows that. But just not only that, but those guys are bringing stuff from other places, right? You know, your twist, your games up front, your blitzes, just how creative defensive coordinators have gotten all over the league and some guys being able to bring stuff in. It’s been really cool. And I think that’s kind of why you see a lot like Jack sack last week. He was nobody even touched him, you I think we’re doing a lot of different things. Trying to switch it up instead of it just being the same old same old. We’re in our gaps. We’re playing what we play and try to out execute us, you know. It’s just switch it up, get some guys home. Obviously TJ gets chipped every single play, so trying to do some things to allow him to get a one-on-one every now and again. So, just Yeah, definitely switching some things up. What’s the What’s the challenge to mesh the front with the back end when you guys are doing that? is like, you know, if the front’s sending a certain blitz and like, you know, say one person just tried to do something that they’re used to in coverage, sometimes that can compromise things, but that’s a lot of things to have to consider. Yeah, I think it just comes back to being assignment sound. Obviously, every week, I mean, this is the highest level of football. Your game plans are going to change, your playbooks are going to change. So, just studying the film and knowing your assignment, I think, just comes down to assignment football. And, you know, I think I think they kind of work hand in hand. You get a guy free like Jack, even if he doesn’t make the sack, there’s pressure. Mhm. You get a pick like B got this past week with the pressure. So, it just works a hand in hand. What happened on the second touchdown cuz the it looked like someone was supposed to run with Hunter up the middle, but like wasn’t sure like who was supposed to do that. Yeah, we just got in a uh we were in like a man alignment. So, an execution and when they motioned, we just got off our count. We just got to continue to be on our count and recount. And I mean, yeah, I mean that was that was a gimme, you know? It should have been 14 to seven and we should have been all right. But I mean, things like that happen and you don’t want them to. But I mean, obviously, if it just goes back to communication. If we’re screaming, overcommunicating, some things like that don’t happen. But just continuing to communicate. No matter what the call is, understand the responsibility. One word that he used in that in that in that back and forth was creative. And that’s the thing. I do think the Steelers defense by design is creative. The problem hasn’t been that. The problem has been fitting together the things while being creative to still cover up the basics and take away the things that that offenses are trying to do. That’s the challenge is matching that creativity, matching those designs with what they need to do week to week to take away things that offenses want to attack. 100%. And and like talking about showing man, but actually being in zone, that’s part of it. You got to be on the count. You got to make sure, especially when you’re in those bunch stacks, you pass it off correctly. Um, the Steelers, for example, did execute their Yankee calls this week correctly. If you saw it on the film, they ran it twice. They executed them correctly. Um, so there are different things that they’re going to do this year that I think are going to mix things up. The Steelers, by the way, I’m not sure if you have noticed, are playing quarters at a higher rate than they did last year. Way higher rate. I think it’s 20%. They ran like 5% of the time last year. So, they’re mixing in different things, different coverages. So, quarterbacks have to slow it down a little bit. And that can be a big gain for them on the back end of their schedule when they have Jordan Love, Lamar Jackson, Jared Goff, uh Josh Allen, all these great players that they’re going to end up facing. Jake Browning, but anyways, but let’s take let’s take a quick break. When we come back, I want to talk about this red zone offense because right now they’re the second best red zone offense in the NFL percentage- wise. Is that a real or is that a mirage? We’ll talk about that next year on the Lockdown Steelers podcast. But first, want to remind you that this show is brought to you by Mazda. Mazda crafts cars for those who do more simply than move. Mazda delivers confidence with every ride with more IHS top safety pick awards than anyone else. You can feel Japanese craftsmanship in every detail from the metallic accents to available Napa leather upholstery. With all-wheel drive standard in every Crossover USV, you can drive with confidence through almost any season. Like our players, they sweat every detail because when you make every move count, impossible becomes irrelevant. Mazda, move and be moved. [Music] We’re back here on the Locked on Steelers podcast. Chris Carter, Nick Farah, uh from penlive.com talking the about the Steelers. Let’s talk about this red zone offense uh through two weeks. Nick, the Steelers have the second best red zone offense in the NFL, second only to the Philadelphia Eagles, who have scored on every red zone possession that they’ve had this year, which is insane. But the Steelers right now have scored on 87.5% in the of their red zone possessions. Uh, and that’s way up from 48.21% last year that they had in the red zone when it came to touchdowns. Um, and a lot of this has been Aaron Rogers. Aaron Rogers right now as far as red zone passing is tied with Jared Goff for the most red zone touchdowns in the NFL. Six touchdowns and one interception for each of them. Of course, Aaron Rogers interception was a Calvin Austin tip pass for Pat Fry. But the question I have for you, Nick, is this something you think the Steelers will be able to rely rely upon? not necessarily the specific percentage, but just being an efficient red zone offense this year. Or is this a mirage that has just kind of just be been because of the early football schedule they had. This is the one thing I’m confident about with the offense. I think they will be a really good red zone group. Um that is a Rogers staple. He’s usually very good in the red zone. Um more importantly, they just have the right guys to be good at it with. Uh think about all the tight end talent they have with Jonnu, Pat, and and Darnell. I mean, all three of those guys are big red zone weapons. DK Metaf is a big-time red zone weapon. They have just a lot of size and an ability to impose in short yardage. And I think that’s been the thing also, Chris, is their short yardage offense on top of this has been really good. When they’ve gotten into third and ones and fourth and ones, they’ve been able to kind of run the ball for three or four yards and just get the first. I think that’s been a new thing, too. Remember how many times we kind of complained about short yardage offense over the past years? Been really good in the short yardage offense part of this. Um, so I think it’s going to be something they can rely upon. They do have the offensive line. I know the O line has kind of struggled and gel right now, but one thing they do have as an offensive line is I do think they have kind of a lot of power behind what kind of their initial surge, which I think is something to note. So when you’re kind of running those usual like inside zone duo stuff where you’re just kind of going right up the middle, you can usually do that. And then Arthur Smith, I think, loves to get creative. I mean, you got pop passes to Janu, you got fake jets to Janu that pitch out to Kenny Gainwell. Like, there’s a lot of different things they can do in the red zone. And so, I do think they’ll be a pretty good red zone offense this year. They have a lot of different things to utilize in that area of the field that can really make uh defenses uncomfortable. So, I think they will be a really good red zone offense all year. Uh to your point about short short yardage success, right now they are 62.5% on gaining third and fourth downs. uh when they are just one or two yards out that’s tied for I believe eighth in the NFL right now which is which is pretty good and that had been something that had been in their way and also sometimes when you have an older quarterback like Aaron Rogers that could be the thing that hurts you because you can’t quarterback you don’t want to quarterback seek with him because all it takes is one bad pop and then all of a sudden your 41y old quarterback is uh is is not uh is not going to be healthy anymore. So uh I I’m I’m I agree with you. This is something that that that size-wise makes a lot of sense and I still think they’re just tapping into it. Like you went back to that red zone possession where uh Kenneth Gainwell scored the touchdown, but it was set up by that third down when they didn’t get the run to work on the first two plays and what did Aaron Rogers do? As soon as they came out in third down, I saw Darnell Washington split out wide and I was like, “Well, he’s going there.” And so he threw it. It ended up being defensive pass interference. It reset the downs. Then Kenneth Gainwell was able to go uh get it get his touchdown eventually there. I think they’re still just scratching the surface when it comes to Darnell Washington, DK Medav, Pat Frymouth, and John Smith all being bigger body guys with strong hands that can go up and get the football against smaller defensive backs. And eventually I I think they’re going to be in a position where they’re going to force defenses like I think an ideal like like like red zone inside the five situation is you bring out two receivers or no three tight ends, a receiver and a running back. You do DK Medaf, all three of your tight ends up, Fmouth, Smith, and Washington, and then you put Warren in the backfield. But you spread the tight ends out. And so now you have you’re forcing these defenders to work in space in their one-on- ones against those guys. And then also on the interior, you’re you’re stress you’re stressing the communication and the efforts of the of the Dline and the inside linebackers to contain the run because all it takes is one little slip up and then Jaylen Warren just bursts through the right hole and he’s in the end zone. I think that can be a prime weapon all season for the Steelers that if they can figure out the offense to get into the red zone, that’ll put that’ll make them one of the better offenses in the NFL if if they can do those things, right? And they they are going to convert, I think, at a high level there if they can get inside the 10, especially. Um, and the thing they also have and that we haven’t really mentioned is the fact that Warren is just such a tank that kind of Yeah. churns his legs and gets hidden yards. I think that’s the other thing is Warren, you know, even when it’s not perfectly blocked up, is a guy that really does do well creating hidden yards. So, they have another weapon there and and they can get him utilized out in the flat and you kind of I think that’s the other thing is you kind of have to, you know, they’ve used a lot of motion down in the red zone and you kind of have to keep an eye on Jaylen and Calvin Austin who are like the quicker little guys from just getting free from you too while you’re kind of defending these big dudes. So, it it’s a good good problem to have for the Steelers. I think they’re going to be a really good red zone offense. It’s going to be can they consistently move it down the field to get there. To your point, Jaylen Warren right now is chartered by Proball Focus to have 14 missed tackles forced. That is third best in the NFL behind Bejian Robinson and Jonathan Taylor. That’s pretty good company to be keeping if you’re Jaylen Warren. Uh that’s why I’ve been giving him good grades for the Steelers. Um, looking at the offense, if you had told me, and Allan Saunders kind of said this on yesterday’s episode, you had told me that uh through three weeks that they were the number they were the 13th best scoring offense in the NFL, I would have said, “You’re crazy.” Actually, they’re 12th best. They’re tied with the with the Buccaneers right now. Uh, but I do think that this this offense can hover around this range. I still don’t think this is going to end up being a top 10 offense. I still think that they’re going to be a bit behind that. But this was the sweet spot that I thought they could attain if they did the right things, if the offensive line continued to grow, if Aaron Rogers fit in with this team was hover just outside that top 10 range. And you do that and this defense picks it picks itself up and it becomes a top 10 unit again and you hope that eventually they can get to a top five unit by the end of the year. That’s the stuff that can make you a more dangerous teams against the good teams later down in their schedule. Yeah. Yeah, and I mean the one thing they do have to do I think outside of the red zone is we got to see a downfield passing attack here come around lot of lot of quick game a lot of screens right now a lot of dumps to Jaylen the these teams are going to start creeping up if they don’t if they don’t start pushing the butt on the field a little more it’s going to be very much 2021 Big Ben offense so um so we need to see that improve a little bit um so we’ll see if they can kind of get that going I would like to see a more dynamic set of playaction passes rather than just a bootleg game. I’d like to see a straight drop, you know, a kind of drop back play action game. I understand the O line is is, you know, a question and everything, but I think at some point you kind of have to take a risk and see if you can develop that part of the game. So, we’ll see if they can get there. Um, but right now, when they do get in the red zone, I I feel very confident they’re usually going to get in there. They have a nice nice set of weapons to use on the chessboard when they get there. Absolutely. We’re going to take a quick break. We come back, I want to talk about this defensive line specifically because Derek Harmon was back and I thought he had a solid first game in the NFL, but Keano Benton still struggled. We covered that in our grades. But I want to talk with Nick about a plan for this defensive line moving forward. That’s next year on the Locked On Steelers podcast. But first, want to remind you the show is also brought to you by FanDuel. The NFL season is here and FanDuel’s making sure you’re you’re ready for every week with camp with this camp miss offer. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use all across the FanDuel app. I love using FanDuel because it fits however you like to bet. Players props, building a same game parlay, or even jumping in live as the action unfolds. It makes every game even more exciting, whether you’re watching your team or just or just keeping an eye on your fantasy lineup. It’s quick, easy, and the best way to add a little more energy to your Sundays. So, are you ready to play? Download the FanDuel app now by visiting fanduel.com to get started. That’s fanduel.com to place your first $5 bet and get your chance at $300 in bonus bets only on FanDuel [Music] back here on the Lockdown Steelers podcast. Chris Carter, Nick Farabot. Nick saw Derek Harmon come in play play. I thought he did he he helped well. I think he kind of showed that he if he can be healthy, if he is in football shape and ready to go, he should be a starter of this defensive line. Uh he helped against the run. He got a sack uh his first sack in in in in uh in the NFL in his first game. I thought Dan Qual acquitted himself well in the middle of the defense. Should the Steelers defensive front right now be Cam Hayward, Derek Harmon, and Dan Qual with guys like Benton and Black filling in behind them? That’s kind of what I would like to see. Um at least early downs. I’m not sure the pass rush juices necessarily there with Echoal right now, but I do think what he brings is a really stout kind of player in the middle of that defense. He’s two capping, man. He’s doing the old school stuff. I think that’s really fun. He’s strong. Um he’s able to take on combos and keep guys free. If you saw him on the field, I think there were two separate times he took up a combo and Patrick Queen came in right behind him and made a tackle. That’s the stuff you love to see is PQ playing fast and free and Echoali eating it like a nose tackle should. Um I think on late downs I still want to see uh Benton in there more. And I think right now with Keanu less is more. I I really do. I think you know reset the mindset and then ramp it back up as he continues to play. Right now I think there’s a little bit of kind of tentiveness right now for him and he’s trying to kind of figure some things out. He’s trying to kind of put new pass rush moves in and find a new way to evolve his game. So, we’ll see how that goes. But Echo is playing really well. In fact, I think Echo was extremely good at only 17 snaps. Harmon, meanwhile, dude, this guy collapsed the pocket at least six times against the Patriots. Um, he’s super strong. He did not get moved off his spot in the run game. He can take on combos. He’s got great length. I think my favorite play of his day isn’t even that though. It’s the hot motor. the screen play to Trayvon Henderson where he comes from behind and hawks the dude down on a screen. It’s soish in that way. Um I really like Derrick Harman. He played very very well. I think there are still some details but it was his NFL debut. He played extremely well. So I think for right now if you have those three starting and then you have Benton kind of as a subpackage rusher type and then Black kind of mixing as you see fit, I think it could be a really good defensive line. I think it can be. I I think there’s potential there. And this is again why I think that Steelers fans should be more optimistic about where this team is right right now. Not that they’re not with the two-1 record. I I still think this week’s going to be a challenge, but there’s a lot of potential for the for this team to achieve upside or find more upside in in their play in these coming weeks, in these coming months here in the NFL. And the defensive line’s part of that. Yes, Kano Bettton has not played well. I think the less is more point on your part is a good thing. be shoring up some things, making him focus on specific assignments. Maybe that helps light a fire in him or let something click. Maybe it also lets his elbow rest a little bit because he’s been grabbing that a lot and he’s been wearing this elbow pad. Uh but to me, that’s the biggest challenge for the Steelers right now. This this this team’s supposed to be good up in the trenches. Uh the the offensive line, I think, has made slow but steady progress through three weeks. They’ve been getting slightly better. They’re still not where you want them to be, but the defensive line, they’re figuring things out. If by midn November these units are playing considerably better and you see the progression of Aaron Rogers with the chemistry of the offense, the the progression with the defensive chemistry that we were just talking about. Those are the things that can make you a very strong team in the in the tighter months because then all of a sudden you’re winning in the trenches. You can trust the run game more. You can trust stuffing the run more. You can trust getting pass rushes even with four guys, not having to send heat all all the time. Those are the things that can make you more dangerous and teams won’t be able to just tee off on it as much because they have those haven’t been hadn’t wouldn’t have been the strengths of the Steelers leading up to those games. So, I I think this defensive line is a is a big part of what needs to improve this season if the Steelers are going to become serious contenders at some point. Right. And I do think the Steelers have options and I liked what they did at linebacker last week by by kind of splitting Cole Hulkcom and Pton Wilson up into situations that they would kind of feel better in. Um I think you need to do the same thing at nose. I do. I think splitting those snaps up between Echuale and Benton and then maybe eventually when he feels more comfort maybe put YA Black in there and you start throwing Benton a little bit more out at Fori. I think that that maybe is something that can evolve over the season. Um, I like the idea of that. I think they’re a like decent deep line. I just think it’s kind of figuring out the right way to go about it and kind of fitting the personnel in. I also really liked an adjustment they made. They were sending a lot more blitzes on rundowns this week and they were kind of allowing PQ and Cole and and Keanu too. Ben made a few nice plays against the run this week because they just kind of said, you know what, just go shoot up field and go. And and that’s what happened. So, they were able to kind of hit some TFLs and some really short yardage gains there as well. So, I I think there’s a lot of different things they’re figuring out against the run and on these early down plays. Um, but the Dline’s going to be really really big. But, I do think right now in terms of consistency and performance, their top three guys have been Cam, Echo, and Harmon. And I think Benton and and Black can fit into that rotation really well to kind of strengthen it over the season. He’s Nick Farball at penlive.com. There’s Steelers Beat Writer. Nick, thanks so much for joining us. Let people know they can find you, follow you, and get more your work. Yeah, you can um follow me on Twitter at farab FB, Blue Sky, Nick Farah. Make sure um to check out uh the Steelers Breakdown podcast and the Steelers stuff at penlive.com/steelers. He’s Nick Farbod. Thank you, Nick. Thank you all for joining us here on the Lockdown Steelers podcast. I’m your host, Chris Carter. Follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok, Blue Sky, everywhere you get social media at Carter Critiques. Read my work at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette by going to post-ashcazette.com, including my film study and my grades that are up this week. Also check me out here on the lockdown Steelers podcast every day Monday through Friday on your favorite podcasting episode on YouTube. Like this video if you enjoyed it. Subscribe to this YouTube channel to get all of your daily Monday to Friday episodes. Back here tomorrow with crossover Thursday with Luke Braun of Lock on Vikings here on the Locked On Steelers podcast. [Music] [Music]

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense isn’t using the same plan as last year, and that’s part of their early season issues. Christopher Carter and Nick Farabaugh take you inside the Steelers locker room to discuss what’s different about the plan, how it’s more aggressive, and the growing pains that go along with it as Patrick Queen, Jalen Ramsey, T.J. Watt and others work to fit together while creative designs are being figured out.

Also, Chris and Nick discuss Aaron Rodgers leading the Steelers to be the second-best red zone offense in the NFL through three weeks. Is that sustainable? Or a mirage? Jaylen Warren, DK Metcalf and Darnell Washington all could make that a season staple for the Steelers with Rodgers.

Finally, the arrival of Derrick Harmon brought a big boost to the defensive line. Could he be the right pairing with Cam Heyward that fixes the group?

Steelers’ Defensive Issues from Newer Aggressive Plan? | Aaron Rodgers in Red Zone Real or Mirage?https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7JorgD8nGLtvvMy1ogFetg

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Right now, new customers can bet just FIVE dollars and if your bet wins—you’ll get THREE HUNDRED dollars in bonus bets to use across the app.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)