Silencing Miami ground machine is priority for Steelers
PITTSBURGH 鈥� No loss is ever wanted, let alone good, but some are more easily explained than others. Take, for example, the Steelers.
During the course of the regular season, which concluded with Sunday鈥檚 27-24 win in overtime over Cleveland, the Steelers were dealt just five losses.
Two of those losses 鈥� Week 7 vs. New England and Week 10 vs. Dallas 鈥� were against the eventual No. 1 seeds in the AFC and NFC, respectively. Even though the Steelers had ample opportunity to win both games, there鈥檚 no shame in losing to either team, right?
Then, there are historic trends and rivalries to consider. The Steelers鈥� Week 3 loss to the Eagles was their ninth in a row to Philadelphia, a city where they haven鈥檛 won in over half a century. The Steelers鈥� Week 9 loss at Baltimore had been their fourth in a row to the Ravens, a bitter division rival that had Pittsburgh鈥檚 number right up until the final :09 of Week 16.
But then there was the afternoon of Oct. 16 at Miami鈥檚 Hard Rock Stadium, the only outlier in the Steelers鈥� losses this season.
Only with the benefit of hindsight does Week 6 begin to not look so bad.
The Steelers were beaten 30-15 in a game that wasn鈥檛 as close as the score would indicate. The loss started the Steelers on a four-game losing streak that spanned 35 days and threatened to derail a promising season.
And it was the afternoon most of western Pennsylvania spent Googling 鈥淛ay Ajayi?鈥�
鈥淗e definitely surprised me,鈥� said Steelers linebacker Tyler Matakevich, who鈥檚 eight tackles were a team-high against Miami. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a hard, physical runner. I definitely think this time, we鈥檒l be ready for him.鈥�
The Steelers better hope so.
Obviously, the Steelers have come a long way since mid-October. After making necessary adjustments, such as playing their youngsters on defense and relying heavily on Le鈥橵eon Bell in the run game, the Steelers will enter Sunday鈥檚 rematch against the Dolphins in the AFC Wild Card game riding a seven-game winning streak. When the Steelers last played the Dolphins, it was the first game without Cam Heyward. Ryan Shazier, Bud Dupree and Marcus Gilbert were sidelined with injuries and Ben Roethlisberger missed five snaps after sustaining what was later revealed to be a torn meniscus.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to find out here real soon how big of an improvement that we鈥檝e made,鈥� said safety Mike Mitchell.
But the Dolphins have improved as well.
Entering Week 6 against Pittsburgh, Miami limped in with a 1-4 record, their lone win coming against Cleveland. Since then, the Dolphins have gone 9-2, taking the No. 6 seed and the second wild card spot in the AFC.
And Ajayi, that non-descript, 2015 fifth-rounder out of Boise State, who gouged the Steelers for 204 yards (8.16 per carry), the third-most yards allowed by Pittsburgh? Well, he鈥檚 since burned other teams too.
Ajayi has gone on to become just one of four players to rush for 200-plus yards three times in a season. The others are Buffalo鈥檚 O.J Simpson in his record-breaking 1973 season, Houston鈥檚 Earl Campbell in 1980 and the New York Giants鈥� Tiki Barber in 2005.
This season, Ajayi finished fourth in rushing yards (1,272) and yards per game (84.8) and seventh in yards per carry (4.9). Those numbers are comparable to those posted by Le鈥橵eon Bell 鈥� 1,268, 105.7 and 5.4 鈥� on the same amount of carries (261).
鈥淐oach Tomlin鈥檚 already said we鈥檝e got to stop the run and run the ball,鈥� Matakevich said. 鈥淲e have to do our job to stop the run.鈥�
The Steelers are confident Bell should be able to run the ball in Sunday鈥檚 wild card against a 30th-ranked Miami run defense, which is allowing 140.0 yards per game. The question is whether their defense can stop, or at least minimize, Ajayi. The Steelers鈥� run defense, good for much of their winning streak, has sprung a few leaks the past two games. Pittsburgh鈥檚 run defense has fallen to 13th, giving up 100 yards per game, after allowing 353 yards the past two weeks in wins against the Ravens and Browns.
No offense to Kenneth Dixon and Isaiah Crowell, but Ajayi is an upgrade to both. If the Steelers are to get to Kansas City or New England, they must first silence the Miami ground machine.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the best thing about sports, right?鈥� said defensive end Stephon Tuitt, who should play Sunday after missing the past two games with a knee injury. 鈥淵ou may only know a person for a little bit, and then next thing you know that person is all blown up and you鈥檝e got the whole offensive line with him too. They鈥檝e got a great offensive line. They got guys that are willing to hit you.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e got a running back that is willing to hit the hole. When we鈥檙e going against an offensive line like this, we know we鈥檝e got to bring our A game, be physical, stop all the gaps to stop a hard runner like him that likes to run up the field. It should be difficult.鈥�