As the Steelers turn the page from Atlanta to New England, in a sense, they're re-reading the end of one chapter while looking ahead to the next.
Add another term to the Mike McCarthy glossary, as the Steelers head coach addressed the first in-season "Opponent Wednesday," as he calls it.
"Obviously, the Patriots are the opponent," McCarthy said, "but I think it's so important to not get past what you do and who you are."
In other words, the Steelers don't want to let what ailed them in the 20-13 season-opening win against the Falcons frustrate them twice. There are several areas you could pinpoint in that regard, but McCarthy one department top of mind.
There's probably never been an NFL game without a third-down attempt, so as much as the Steelers desire to move the ball efficiently and stay on-schedule offensively, they'll probably face at least a few Sunday at Gillette Stadium. The Steelers had 13 of them in Week 1 and converted only 3, which went a long way toward the offense finishing with something of an unlucky 13 points.
"As we install, which we did this morning for normal down-and-distances and third down, we're also highlighting some particular things from this past week against Atlanta to make sure they apply," McCarthy said. "Because it's still really early in the season. Unscouted looks are still prominent the first four weeks, and we now have one game on the film. And as I can't state enough to our players, the most important video of the week is the video that we put out there, so that is part of our process."
While that result is in the rear-view mirror, McCarthy is looking to tie together what did work with what the Steelers still firmly believe can work. Take the run game, for instance, which accounted for just 61 yards between Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle.
But it got the job done in the end, with Warren's longest rush of the game, a 17-yarder, hitting in the fourth quarter, and then a 9-yard chunk to cap the 4-minute drive and seal the win. If the Steelers can get going earlier on that front, they should only be more effective pushing the ball downfield through the air, which they dialed up several times in the first stanza of McCarthy's reunion with quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
"The biggest thing for us is to just make sure we have the timing, the coordination between those throws and the protection and how they fit into the plan," McCarthy said. "Because a lot of times, those throws are more about when you call them and making sure we have the platform to throw them."
McCarthy praised how the passing game fared on those deeper throws in training camp, so he'll continue to have trust in the offensive playbook. After all, Rodgers did complete three passes of at least 20 yards to his receivers, plus a 19-yard connection with tight end Pat Freiermuth. One highlight for improvement in Monday's meetings were contested catches, which the Steelers will emphasize going forward.
The Patriots are a different defense, of course, but that's why it's Opponent Wednesday. Every day is a day for the Steelers to sharpen themselves.
"We're going to trust our menu of offense, and we're going to line up and try to attack their defense the way we feel gives us the best chance to be successful. Nothing's changed with how we feel about throwing the ball short, long, intermediate, all that. It's important to have all those components of your pass game."
