Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are a nightmare for any NFL defense. What makes the duo all the scarier for the Pittsburgh Steelers to prepare for this week is the havoc they wreaked against Pittsburgh a mere four weeks ago.
Stopping the Cincinnati Bengals’ star pass catchers has to be at the forefront of the Steelers and head coach Mike Tomlin’s agenda for the week. Speaking with Steelers.com’s Bob Labriola ahead of the Week 11 game against Cincinnati, Tomlin said that attempting to slow down Chase and Higgins will be situational.
“Sometimes it’s game circumstance, sometimes it’s field position,” Tomlin said. “Within game circumstance, Tee Higgins is a big-time red zone target, with his size and stature and his ability to make 50-50 catches on the long grass. You got to be fearful of Chase’s top end speed, et cetera.”
In their Week 7 matchup in Cincinnati, both Chase and Higgins ran wild, and the Steelers had no answer for them. Chase set a franchise record for receptions en route to a 16-catch, 161-yard, one-touchdown night. Higgins caught six balls for 96 yards and a touchdown. He also sealed the game with a 29-yard reception that set up the Bengals’ game-winning field goal.
Since then, the Steelers’ secondary has undergone several changes. Jalen Ramsey is playing free safety full time and Kyle Dugger was brought in to start at strong safety after DeShon Elliott went on IR with a knee injury.
“So, there are a lot of variables that determine how you juggle working the schematics to minimize those guys,” Tomlin said. “Certainly, you can’t minimize them both all the time. Everyone else is going to kill you.”
Tomlin touched on the fact that Bengals running back Chase Brown had a big game catching the ball out of the backfield in Cincinnati’s last game against the Chicago Bears.
“Chicago at times were overly committed to minimizing the one-on-one component of those two guys, but that’s the challenge of competing against a group like that,” Tomlin said. “And certainly, when you got a group like that, you’re probably lacking in other areas.”
Tomlin concluded that the Steelers will need to “make wise choices and distribute our personnel appropriately.” He conceded that there will be times when the talented receivers will be in 0ne-on-one matchups and that the Steelers will need to ” be careful of when we do it and we better be careful of who we put in those circumstances.”
Coming into the season, all signs pointed to Jalen Ramsey being the guy to shadow other teams’ top receivers. Given that the Bengals are a division rival whom the Steelers will face twice per season, a large part of the reasoning to bringing Ramsey to Pittsburgh seemed to be its biannual meeting with Cincinnati.
Not only did Ramsey seem woefully inadequate in their previous matchup when he was tasked with one-on-one coverage, but the entire dynamic of the defense has now been turned on its head with Ramsey moving to safety. With Darius Slay missing this week’s matchup with a concussion, it stands to reason that there will be moments against the Bengals when Joey Porter Jr., Brandin Echols or James Pierre find themselves with a one-on-one matchup. How they can fare in those moments, and the defense’s ability as a whole to limit splash plays will likely be one of the deciding factors in this game.
Another key for the Steelers will be stopping the run, something they weren’t able to do previously against Cincinnati. A limited run game paired with a healthy pass rush will prevent Joe Flacco and the Bengals’ offense from feasting on the Steelers’ secondary with the quick passing game that was so effective in Week 7.
There’s a lot that will have to change from their last meeting with Cincinnati to change the result from a demoralizing defeat to a victory. But, as Tomlin noted, it all starts with situational defense to slow down Chase and Higgins.
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