The Steelers had been successful at stopping quarterback Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens three out of the four times they met. And then the Ravens signed running back Derrick Henry.
The two-time NFL rushing champ joined the run-oriented Jackson to give the Ravens a two-headed rushing monster last year. The Steelers stopped the duo in their first meeting last season, but Henry erupted for 162 yards on 24 carries in the rematch, and then rushed for 186 yards on 26 carries in the Ravens' playoff win.
Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin explained what Henry's presence has meant in terms of game-planning.
"When you add a future Hall of Fame runner, you have to address it," Austin said. "Now you have two things that you've got to stop out of that backfield that you're really worried about that are game-changers. And so, it does affect your planning, sometimes in terms of that. But that's part of this business, so we have to rise up to the challenge and see what we can do better.
"We had a little success in the first game last year, didn't have success in the second and third games, but again each game is different. We'll just prepare and work our tail off to try to be successful this week."
Jackson has been hampered this year by a hamstring injury. In nine games so far, he's averaged 29 rushing yards per game. In the last six seasons, since becoming the Ravens' full-time starting quarterback, he averaged 63 rushing yards per game.
Jackson was limited in Wednesday's practice this week and then missed Thursday's practice with an ankle injury. Austin said his defense is planning on Jackson being healthy nonetheless.
"When you go into a stadium with him you presume it's always 100% Lamar," Austin said. "If you underestimate that man, you're doing that at your own risk. Whether he is running more or whatever, he has the ability to change a game in a heartbeat, so we'll prepare as such."
Run defense relapse vs. Bills
The Steelers have had solid moments this season against the run. They held NFL rushing leader Jonathan Taylor of the Colts to a season-low 45 yards, and held the NFL's No. 2 rushing team, the Bears, to 99 yards two weeks ago.
But last week, the Steelers allowed 249 rushing yards to the Bills. Austin was asked if that was an ominous sign with the run-oriented Ravens up next.
"We obviously didn't get what we wanted done last week, and so we go back to the drawing board," he said. "I think that overall, we've been pretty solid in the run area, but we came up short last week and so we get back to the drawing board and see what we can do better this week, knowing that they're a team that likes to run the ball."
James Cook led the way with 144 yards, and after the game said the Bills' plan was to attack the Steelers' perimeter.
"You don't have to know a lot to know that we didn't play like we wanted to," Austin said. "To put it all on the corners would probably not be the right thing to do. There are a lot of things that go into making up a big play and how a big play happens. It was a little bit of everything. I thought we could have been better on the edge, in terms of how we set it and not making the corner so short. Obviously, we could have shown up a little bit sooner, and been there faster.
"It's like anything; there's a lot of different things. It's not just one thing or one person that goes into making a bad play, and that's the thing that we have to live with."
Does he expect the Ravens to attack the Steelers the same way?
"We'll see," Austin said. "I'm assuming, as we all know in this league, if you show a weakness somebody is going to come back the next week and try to exploit it to see if you fixed it. And so, we have to be ready for those scenarios."
Hitting longer passes
Arthur Smith's offense hasn't connected on a pass of 20+ air yards since Week 8 against the Packers. The Steelers signed veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen this week, and Smith was asked how the 12-year vet with 693 career receptions might help.
"There's a lot," said Smith. "Adam's a guy that's got a lot of experience. He can add a lot of things to the room, in terms of guys watching his habits, the way he runs routes. So, we'll see where it goes."
Another option for the Steelers is former Aaron Rodgers teammate Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who's been working on the Steelers' practice squad the last four weeks.
"Everybody is," Smith said. "All options."
Another big-play option is obvious. DK Metcalf caught passes of 31, 80, 25, 39, and 24 in the first seven games this season, but nothing longer than 19 yards in the last five games.
"We've got to get back to things that we were doing well early in the year," Smith said. "There are some things we need to change up, with all of our guys.
"You don't get the results you want, you gotta keep working and you gotta problem-solve. You gotta be solution-based. But all those guys have made big plays at different moments. We just need more of them consistently. You've got to string them together. We need to get a win."
