Opponent Scouting Report: Pittsburgh Steelers
By Andrew Ites
The Steelers have a nearly unstoppable offense, but can their young defense step up to make them serious contenders?
Pittsburgh has been at the top of the AFC nearly every year of Ben Roethlisberger‘s career, and they have another strong squad this season.
They return most of a team that made the AFC Championship Game in 2016, and they’ll be aiming even higher this year.
Strengths
The trio of Big Ben, Le’Veon Bell, and Antonio Brown has been absolutely dominant when they’re fortunate enough to be on the field together.
Roethlisberger is still playing at a high level even though he reportedly considered retirement this offseason. He threw for 3,819 yards at 7.5 yards per attempt last season with 29 TD’s and 13 INT’s.
Antonio Brown continues to be his favorite target as he put up 1,284 yards receiving with 12 TD’s in 2016, and he remains to perform like one of the league’s most dangerous receivers.
Le’Veon Bell could’ve been an MVP candidate if he didn’t miss the first three games with a suspension last season. He gained 1,884 yards from scrimmage with 9 total TD’s in just 13 games, and he could put up record-breaking numbers next year.
Ben, Bell, and Brown will continue to give opposing defensive coordinators headaches in 2017, and they’ll welcome the return of WR Martavis Bryant to add another weapon to the “killer B’s”.
Weaknesses
The Steelers have spent three of their last five first round picks on edge defenders in an attempt to find a successor for 39-year-old James Harrison, but none of them have developed into effective players yet.
Luckily for Pittsburgh Harrison is still playing at a high level, but they need one of their young edge defenders to step up and provide a pass rush on the opposite side of Harrison next season.
Next: Peyton Manning Finishes Second on All-Time QB List
The Colts were forced to play without Andrew Luck when they matched up against the Steelers last season, and it did not go well.
Indianapolis made plenty of upgrades to their defense, but there might not be a single unit in the NFL that can slow down Pittsburgh’s collection of offensive weaponry.
However, the lack of pass rush from the Steelers could unleash an explosive Colts offense.
In case you missed it, here are our other scouting reports for the Colts’ 2017 opponents: