Tim Benz: Josh Allen the latest mobile quarterback to test Steelers — in a whole new way

Another one of these stories?

Yup. Another one of these stories.

Not my fault. I didn’t make the NFL schedule. Or create the opposing rosters of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

But if the Steelers keep facing this string of mobile quarterbacks, I’m going to keep writing about them.

Mainly because Mike Tomlin keeps talking about them.

And thankfully for Steelers fans, his defensive players keep listening about how to contain them. Because they’ve gotten better at it as the season has gone along.

It was a mixed bag for the Steelers early in the season against quarterbacks with good running or scrambling ability. They sacked Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks four times and held him to just 22 yards on the ground.

But he gashed the team for a crucial 15-yard scramble on the eventual game-sealing drive.

Baltimore Ravens MVP candidate Lamar Jackson had a game-high 70 yards rushing and a 5.0 yards per carry average at Heinz Field back in the Week 5 road win. But those numbers are both below his season averages. Plus, the Steelers sacked him a season-high five times.

Baker Mayfield ran for just one yard when his Cleveland Browns beat the Steelers on Nov. 14. But he eluded numerous pressures, was sacked only once, threw two touchdowns, and sent the Steelers to their only defeat of the past eight weeks.

Since then, though, the Steelers have played three more games against agile signal callers and won them all. They beat Mayfield in the rematch, Ryan Finley in Cincinnati, and Arizona Cardinals rookie Kyler Murray.

In those three games, the QBs tallied just 12 rushing yards and were sacked 14 times. They also accounted for six total turnovers.

Now comes Buffalo Bills signal caller Josh Allen on Sunday. And he’s a threat on the ground in a different way than those other quarterbacks.

Mayfield moves to keep throws alive in the pocket. Wilson does, too, plus he has the smarts and willingness to tuck it and run when needed. Murray and Jackson are electric quick and fast. And Finley is a dime store knock-off composite of the other four.

Allen also has some speed and athleticism, but he runs with power. That comes with being 6-foot-5, 237 pounds.

Plus, according to Tomlin, there is an element of complexity and variation to how Allen runs, even beyond what they saw last week from Murray, who leads the Cardinals in rushing.

“There’s probably more designed runs in Buffalo than Arizona,” Tomlin said. “So we are probably going to be more challenged in that area than we were a week ago. He’s in year two, and Murray is in year one. The depths of the foundation of the understanding is further down the road.

“They do an awesome job in designed quarterback runs that keep you off balance. Some are situational. Some are red-zone oriented. Some are possession downs.”

That’s evidenced by Allen’s 436 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground, nearly as many yards as Murray (448) and twice as many scores.

“The difference is, they will spread everyone out in the empty (set) and do quarterback draws,” Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt said. “If you are in man (coverage), that can turn all the defenders’ backs to the quarterback and allow him to run freely.

“I think there is a little bit more designed (in Buffalo). They will have zone-read but not necessarily as much as Kyler Murray will do. But they will have the quarterback sweeps and quarterback draws which we didn’t really see in Arizona.”

Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick saw Allen twice last year when he was a member of the Miami Dolphins. He saw Allen at his best, rushing for 135 and 95 yards. Allen also had two of his better throwing games against the Dolphins, accounting for 455 yards and five touchdowns versus three interceptions.

Yet, Fitzpatrick also sees improvement in Allen’s tape when it comes to making a decision to stay in the pocket to make a throw or breaking contain with a purpose as opposed to running for the sake of running.

“He’s matured his game in that sense,” Fitzpatrick said Wednesday. “He’s not just looking downfield and taking off running with the ball. He’s improved on that.”

Actually, maybe making Allen stay in the pocket and throw could be the best thing for the Steelers. Consider these awful “ESPN Stats and Info” numbers during the Bills’ 24-17 loss to the Ravens last week.

Josh Allen was:
- 1-of-11 passing 15+ yards downfield
- 0-of-11 from outside the pocket (all under duress)
- 1-of-16 when under duress
- Blitzed 30 times & completed 29% of his attempts against it (7-of-24)

And the game *still* came down to the final minute
(h/t @ESPNStatsInfo)

— Marcel Louis-Jacques (@Marcel_LJ) December 8, 2019

One area where Steelers fans can gain confidence is this: After saying they needed to learn from their mistakes against Mayfield, they basically used the Bengals game against Finley as a dry run for changes made to their pressures and passing lanes. And it worked. They applied what they practiced and studied, then destroyed Mayfield the second time around.

All week long, the Steelers worked on rushing intelligently while containing Murray and preparing for his footwork to escape the pocket. And they baffled the rookie into one of his worst games of the season.

Allen is good. Maybe even underappreciated nationally. But in a year of “catch me if you can” quarterbacks, the Steelers usually end up doing just that.

Expect that to happen more times than not Sunday.