Behind the Steel Curtain
It’s Wednesday, which means it’s time for a weekly Steelers links roundup at BTSC. But first, let’s take a look around the AFC North:
(No opponent section this week — enjoy the bye!)
Now, onto some Steelers news and discussion:
(From the Associated Press): DUBLIN — Irish police say that no formal complaint has been filed regarding an early-morning incident in Dublin involving Pittsburgh Steelers backup quarterback Skylar Thompson and that they haven’t established whether there was a robbery.
An update on the Steelers’ Skylar Thompson reportedly being robbed in Ireland. It appears the situation isn’t crystal clear.
(From the Associated Press’ Ken Maguire): Minnesota took a delay of game penalty with 14 seconds left, creating fourth-and-17 from the Vikings 32. Wentz then threw an incomplete pass and the comeback fell short in a 24-21 loss to Pittsburgh in Ireland’s first regular-season NFL game.
Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell wasn’t happy.
“It was a unique thing about coming to play here and then you find out about three minutes before the kickoff that that end zone’s game clock and play clock would be turned off for the day,” O’Connell said.
Cue the sore loser jokes, but O’Connell’s complaints do raise questions about just how well the NFL works in stadiums not specifically built for football.
(From Steelers.com’s Mike Prisuta): The Steelers rushed a season-high 29 times for a season-high 131 yards in last Sunday’s 24-21 win over Minnesota in Dublin. They also averaged a season-high 4.5 yards per carry and scored two rushing touchdowns, after having managed just one of those over the season’s first three weeks.
According to the stat sheet and the eye test, the offensive line played its best game to date.
“Yes, we did,” offensive line coach Pat Meyer confirmed.
But it wasn’t just the offensive line, Meyer emphasized.
“Obviously, it’s a collective group,” he continued. “It’s everything. It’s the line, the backs, the tight ends, the wideouts.
Meyer makes a good point that the Steelers’ run game success wasn’t just about the offensive line. It was an improved game for them, but it was also Kenneth Gainwell’s best performance of the year by far. The same could be said of Kaleb Johnson. Darnell Washington played a huge role in the blocking game, as did wide receiver Ben Skowronek. When the run game goes off, usually it’s because all 11 did their job.
(From SI’s Noah Strackbein): No one...
