Steelers 4 Downs: Bengals a near-ideal foe to get Kenny Pickett, new play-caller jumpstarted

1. If not against them…

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ new coordinator/playcaller tandem taking over for the fired Matt Canada has been afforded fortuitous scheduling, at least inasmuch as the opponents’ pass defense. Eddie Faulkner handled the game plan, and Mike Sullivan will call the plays for the Steelers’ 1 p.m. game at the Cincinnati Bengals, a team that ranks near the bottom of the NFL in myriad statistics related to defending the pass.

In yards allowed, the Bengals rank 27th at 247.8 per game. In terms of yards per attempt, they’re second-to-last at 8.0. They are last in yards per completion (12.8) and net yards per attempt (7.0). According to pro-football-reference.com, only seven teams hurry quarterbacks less frequently (5.7% of dropbacks).

With Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett around the bottom of the league in average air yards per pass, it is notable that Cincinnati — by far — has the highest opponent average depth per target downfield of any team at 10.1 yards.

Pro Football Focus’ subjective grades peg the Bengals at 30th in coverage.

The starting quarterback of Bengals opponents in five of the past seven weeks has finished among the top six in yards per attempt across the NFL for that weekend.

2. Mirror images

The Steelers and Bengals each rank 25th or worse in the league in both total offense and total defense. They join the New York Giants as the only teams with that dubious distinction. Of course, the Giants are 3-8; the Steelers (6-4) and Bengals (5-5) remain well in the playoff race.

How? Cincinnati and the Steelers have used the similar recipes regarding turnovers. They tie for fewest giveaways in the league (eight) and rank first (Steelers, 6.1%) and second (Bengals. 7.3%) in percentage of drives that result in turnovers. Both also are among the top eight in takeaways: The Steelers are tied for third with 19 and the Bengals tied for seventh with 18. The Steelers are tied for the NFL lead in turnover differential (plus-11), and the Bengals are just behind at plus-10.

The Steelers and Bengals struggle in some of the same areas, too. Cincinnati’s drives have the third-highest rate of “three-and-outs” in the league (28.2%), the Steelers’ the second-worst (29.6%).

Sharp Football Analysis notes the teams’ deficiencies in the battle of “explosive plays.” The Steelers have 32 fewer passing plays of 15 or more yards than their opponents. That’s the worst differential in the league. Guess who’s second-worst. The Bengals, at minus-28.

3. Warren’s court

Jaylen Warren’s 74-yard touchdown run not only provided the bulk of the Steelers’ offense during last week’s loss in Cleveland, but data provided by NFL Next Gen Stats suggests it was one of the most impressive Steelers running plays in years.

Rush yards over expected (RYOE) is a metric that uses player tracking data along with field position and defensive alignment. It determines how many more (or less, if negative) yards a runner gained beyond what an average rusher would be expected to gain. And Warren’s plus-68 RYOE is the most on a run by any Steelers player since at least 2017 and tied for the most by any NFL player this season.

Warren traveled 99.2 yards on the play, the most of any ballcarrier during Week 11 and among the top 15 for any player in the league all season.

4. Faster than fast

Warren reached a top speed of 20.07 mph during the aforementioned play, tied for 18th fastest of any player last weekend. But Warren wasn’t the fastest Steeler on that play.

Miles Boykin provided an escort for Warren, catching up to deliver downfield blocks. But it was another wide receiver during Warren’s run who recorded the second-fastest speed reached by any Steelers player all season. Calvin Austin III was sprinting down the left side of the field while Warren ran down the right, and Austin topped out at 21.11 mph as a means to the end of celebrating with Warren.

For perspective, Austin’s top speed during his 72-yard touchdown against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 3 was 20.45 mph.