The Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2) win a remarkable game in Detroit. Although the Defense gave up 482 yards, the Detroit Lions (3-4) could be kept away from their own end zone throughout the game. The ineffectiveness of the Lions in the Red Zone became the main theme of the game. Just like the break-out performance of a 20-year-old boy!
The Lions’ Offense was much better than the previous weeks, but the clear problem after 24 minutes of football could not be denied. It’s hard to get the ball into the end zone. The same applies to Pittsburgh, where four Matt-Prater-Field-Goals and two Steeler-Turnovers ensured a tight half-time lead.
Steelers-Turnover, which Ben Roethlisberger (17/31,317 YDS, TD, INT) had already seen on one side against the Jaguars. Le’ Veon Bells Fumble, who landed in Glover Quin’s hands like the Roethlisberger-INT, was rare. Two mistakes in promising drives wiped out a half-time lead in favour of the Steelers. Six stops at third down, on the other hand, are offset by a weak performance in the pass rush area.
Pittsburgh’s Defenese also made it in the second round Matthew Stafford (27/45,423 YDS) and Co. from the end zone. Two drives went all the way to the one-yard line. But no more than three points came out. The problems in the Red Zone ruined Stafford’s excellent performance. The quarterback showed up in narrow windows with great throws after Bye Week.
On the other hand, it was JuJu Smith-Schuster who served as can opener for the Steelers Offense. With a 97-yard touchdown, the receiver provided the only major score of the evening, giving the Steelers the head start they needed to defend primarily in their own red zone.
Detroit Lions (3-4) – Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2)15:20 (3:3,9:7,0:10,3:0) BOXSCORE
Mike Tomlin (Head Coach, Pittsburgh Steelers):
“We weren’t perfect. But we showed fighting spirit and stamina today. The individual players and the collective. The players pushed each other and so the significant plays in the red zone and the offense were created.”
Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions)
“I think we had good calls. We were very close to the end zone, but we have to find a way to get the ball in. In these situations, we simply have to create plays. Me, among others. I need to find the open-minded players here. And in the running game, we need to make some improvements here.”
Five trips to the Red Zone are not enough for the Lions to reach the end zone just once. No matter if with the run or over Stafford’s passes. As big as the Steelers’ problems in the passport defence in the rest of the field were, so strong was the end zone defended. But Lions playcalling also raises some questions. Detroit scored nine yards on 17 Red Zone Plays and ten Penalty Yards on the offensive.
After a lean start to the season, Bell had finally arrived in the season in the past games and was able to generate a lot of flexibility for the Steelers’ entire offense with his running game. Pittsburgh hoped to find their way into the game early in Detroit. The Lions, however, usually had the right answer. Given the high number of carries, the 76 yards at 25 attempts are a very decent value for Bell. The Lions-D concept was clearly designed to fill the center and this paid off.
The absolute break-out game of a new star in the league? Smith-Schuster made headlines during the week because of the search for his stolen bike. Sunday night it was then the sporting achievement. Smith-Schuster was already the most popular receiver option at the beginning of the game and showed important catches to move the Steelers-Offense against Antonio Brown in spite of a stagnant running game and close coverage. The 97-yard touchdown showed all its explosive power and provided an urgently needed big play of the Steelers Offense. In the end, 193 receiving yards were involved in seven catches.
The Lions were known for their comebacks last season. The “Swagger” apparently got lost this year. What the Lions finally tried to do to get into the end zone was too predictable. In the second half, you even had the feeling that a mental barrier had been created. Lions Offensive Coordinator Jim Bob Cooter has to take a lot of trouble for the playcalling. For example, the potential game winning drive ran a draw play on Third and Five. From the outset, this seemed to be without any chance of success. The creativity that was shown in the rest of the field left a lot to be desired in the Red Zone.