Steelers 4 Downs: Schedule eases up after most difficult ‘1st half’ in NFL

1. Hard now easy

Though there is no exact midway point of a 17-game season (halftime of game No. 9?), the Pittsburgh Steelers’ bye coming after their eighth game is about as close as you can get.

And boy, can the Steelers use it. The aggregate record of the eight opponents the Steelers faced in the first half of their season was 38-25, a .603 winning percentage that was the NFL’s second-hardest. Only the Detroit Lions faced a tougher schedule.

The good news is the aggregate record of the Steelers’ remaining eight opponents (they play the Baltimore Ravens twice) is 26-36-1. While the 3-5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and 3-5 Cleveland Browns are the only teams the Steelers have played thus far that have a losing record, during the rest of the season the Ravens are the lone team the Steelers will face that currently has a winning record.

Counting the Ravens’ record twice, the 31-39-1 aggregate record for the Steelers’ remaining opponents (.444) makes for the seventh-easiest schedule the rest of the way.

Of course, that’s using the most simple metric possible, opponents’ winning percentage. What do the more advanced numbers say? Footballoutsiders.com goes deep into analytics to evaluate teams, and it says the Steelers have played the NFL’s toughest schedule to this point.

Going forward, Football Outsiders’ metrics say the Steelers have the league’s ninth-easiest schedule.

2. Grading Jackson

Pro Football Focus, well, focused on the positives on its Twitter account devoted to the Steelers in the wake of the acquisition of veteran cornerback William Jackson III. PFF has evaluated Jackson over his seven-year career to have a grade of 77.6. For context, for the 2022 season, a coverage grade of 77.6 would rank 12th among the 81 NFL cornerbacks who have played the most snaps. For more context, here are the 2022 grades for the Steelers’ other cornerbacks: Cameron Sutton, 77.1; James Pierre, 61.3; Arthur Maulet, 50.0; Levi Wallace, 44.8; Ahkello Witherspoon, 42.8.

The grades have some degree of subjectivity, so take them for what they are worth. But it also should be relayed that Jackson’s 2022 coverage grade for the Washington Commanders is 40.7. Last season, he was 59.5. Over his first four NFL seasons after being drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals, Jackson’s average season coverage grade was 72.7.

3. Pickett picks Pickens

The recent trade of Chase Claypool has been taken by many as a sign of faith in George Pickens. The rookie receiver has had underwhelming production so far (26 catches, 338 yards, one touchdown), eight games into his NFL career. But with an apparent promotion to the WR2, the thinking goes, Pickens’ rapport with Kenny Pickett could further be fostered.

PFF calculates that Pickett has a 123.9 passer rating when targeting Pickens: 17 receptions on 22 targets for 223 yards and a touchdown. That leaves him with a poor 58.0 rating when throwing to anyone else.

When Mitch Trubisky targeted Pickens, his passer rating was 60.6.

4. No ‘go’

Before his trade to the Chicago Bears last week, Chase Claypool campaigned for more “go routes.” But Next Gen Stats’ data says Claypool has been running the “go” like few of his peers since he has joined the league: Claypool has run the fifth-most go routes since 2020.

This is relevant because Chicago quarterback Justin Fields targets receivers on go routes more than all but seven NFL QBs since he entered the league last season, according to Next Gen.

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