Steelers won't rest on laurels vs. backup QBs

Joe Schobert couldn’t suppress a smile. A member of the organization less than two months, he’s picked up on the demeanor and personality of Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin rather quickly.

Earlier this week, Schobert was asked to consider if it was only human nature to brace for a letdown during a defense’s week of preparation when the opposing team’s likely future Hall of Fame quarterback is out and a journeyman is in at the most important position in the sport.

“I think ‘Mike T’ doesn’t really allow that to happen,” Schobert said. “When you’re in the meetings in the morning, that’s not how things are presented to us. It’s not how information is presented to us.

“We are preparing this week like normal.”

It must feel anything like normal in Seattle, where for the first time in almost a decade, the Seahawks will have someone other than eight-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl XLIII champion Russell Wilson at quarterback. Geno Smith will make his first start since 2017 when the Seahawks play the Steelers 8:20 p.m. Sunday at Heinz Field, ending Wilson’s streak of 149 consecutive starts.

Geno Smith will take the helm Sunday against the Steelers. https://t.co/nQ2UqYiiFe

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) October 13, 2021

Wilson suffering a finger injury that required surgery last week was a significant break for the Steelers, who like most NFL teams tend to have a better record when the opponent is playing its No. 2 quarterback.

But for a reminder of how a Steelers victory is no sure thing, refer back to the most recent time they faced a backup quarterback. Just eight regular-season games and less than 10 months ago, Ryan Finley’s Cincinnati Bengals beat the Steelers, 27-17, on a Christmas week Monday night game.

It was an improbable result – and not just because Cincinnati (then 2-10-1) entered the game 8 1/2 games behind the Steelers (11-2) in the AFC North, nor merely because the Bengals won in spite of Finley completing seven passes.

The loss to a backup QB, defined by a switch made because of an in-season injury to a starter and not counting coaches’ decisions based on performance, was the Steelers’ first in almost exactly five years.

It was Dec. 27, 2015, when Ryan Mallett’s Baltimore Ravens stunned the Steelers, 20-17, putting their postseason hopes in jeopardy (the Steelers got the help they needed in Week 17 and made the playoffs).

“Nothing’s different,” Steelers safety Terrell Edmunds said of the week of preparation for a backup, “because everyone in the NFL is capable. Some people, of course, can make more plays than others. But everyone is capable of making big plays, so you’ve got to put respect on (Smith’s) name and go out there and compete like we are going against the MVP candidate.”

Over the past five seasons, the Steelers had the good fortune of avoiding MVP-caliber quarterbacks such as Andrew Luck, Dak Prescott and Lamar Jackson, instead facing the unheralded likes of Scott Tolzien, Garrett Gilbert and (a past-his-prime) Robert Griffin III.

In the 159 weeks between losing to Mallett and Finley, the Steelers enjoyed an 11-game winning streak against backup quarterbacks. It began by beating Cleveland’s Austin Davis in the 2015 finale and ended with a victory against Griffin’s Ravens in the delayed Thanksgiving game last season.

Those 11 wins against No. 2s, in aggregate, came pretty easy, too: The combined final score of those games was 272-136. The Steelers doubled up their opponents who started backup QBs, allowing an average of fewer than two touchdowns per game in that time.

Take away a 30-27 win in September 2018 against the most accomplished quarterback of the 11 vanquished backups on the Steelers’ list — Ryan Fitzpatrick, then of Tampa Bay — and the other 10 QB’s averaged just 10.9 points against the Steelers. Just five of them as many as 10 points.

For good measure, throw in two other wins in which a team’s starter was knocked out early (2020 when Denver turned to Scott Driskel and 2019 when Indianapolis was forced to rely on Brian Hoyer), and the Steelers’ streak was 12.

There’s an undeniable appeal to seeing Seahawks QB Geno Smith, a 31-year-old guy who hasn’t played regularly in seven years, finally get his shot. https://t.co/QWPa6N0Ip2

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) October 16, 2021

But don’t forget Finley. And, likewise, keep in mind that nine-year veteran Smith is more of a threat than the likes of T.J. Yates (Houston, 2017), Jake Lutton (Jacksonville, 2020) or Scott Driskel (who started in place of Andy Dalton for the Bengals against the Steelers in 2018).

“He’s been in the league for a while,” defensive captain Cameron Heyward said, “and we are going to have our work cut out for us.”

Lest the defense feel tempted to overlook the Smith-led Seahawks, coordinator Keith Butler offered a stark reminder why the Steelers can’t afford and shouldn’t feel entitled to.

“Yeah, we’re 2-3,” Butler said of the Steelers’ record. “It’s not dadgum 5-1 or 6-0 or something like that.

“We’ve got to play. It doesn’t matter who’s over there. It’s all about what we do and how successful we are in terms of trying to do what we’re trying to do defensively.”

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