Seattle Seahawks Pass Defense vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: 37/59, 480 Yards, 1 TD, 4 INTs
3rd Quarter
Pass #33
Situation: 1st and 10 PIT 15
Description: Q3-(12:49) B. Roethlisberger Sacked at PIT 13 for -2 Yards (C. Avril)
The Seahawks do a great job taking away the screen pass and it allows for the pass rush to get to Roethlisberger (#7). Roethlisberger is trying to hit Brown (#84) underneath on the clearout screen but both Burley (#28) and Wagner (#54) are in the area to break up or pick off the pass. His next option is the seam route of Wheaton but Thomas (#29) is aggressive in his coverage and jumps the route, taking it away. At this time, Avril (#56) and Bennett (#72) meet at Roethlisberger and Bennett bull rushes Villaneuva (#78) into Roethlisberger’s side and Avril gets around the pull block of Foster (#73). Roethlisberger has no chance to escape and the Seahawks get their first sack.
Pass #34
Situation: 2nd and 12 PIT 13
Description: Q3-(12:09) B. Roethlisberger Pass Short Right to De. Williams to PIT 30 for 17 Yards (E. Thomas)
What happened to Chancellor (#31)? He does not look like close to the player that he was the last two years. The Steelers run the screen and Wright (#50) does a good job beating the block of James and forcing Willaims (#34) back to the inside. Chancellor is unblocked initially and has a free run at Williams. His angle is poor though as he is aiming at William’s outside shoulder. This allows Williams to cut back to the inside and even if Foster doesn’t pin him to the outside Chancellor has no chance to make a tackle. Wagner (#54) does Chancellor no favors by getting pushed to the outside by DeCastro (#66)/overpursuing to the outside but Chancellor needs to take a better angle to make this tackle. (20/30, 223, 1 INT)
Pass #35
Situation: 1st and 10 PIT 30
Description: Q3-(11:33) B. Roethlisberger Pass Short Right to A. Brown to PIT 35 for 5 Yards (B. Wagner)
If Brown (#84) is setting up to catch it two yards from the line of scrimmage, it’s wise to just let him catch the ball and rally down instead of being aggressive and getting beat deep. That is what the Seahawks did as both Wagner (#54) and Lane (#20) don’t track him up the field. This turns out to be good for the Seahawks as Lane is sitting in the window of the out route of Wheaton (#11) behind him. Roethlisberger’s (#7) only throw is to dump it down to Brown and let him try to create some magic as the defense of the Seahawks was very sound on this play. I do have a little issue with how Wagner wasn’t aggressive in trying to tackle him, but it is understandable as Brown can make any tackler look silly if they are too out of control. (21/31, 228 Yards, 1 INT)
Pass #36
Situation: 2nd and 5 PIT 35
Description: Q3-(10:46) B. Roethlisberger Sacked at PIT 27 for -8 Yards (F. Clark)
The coverage could have been garbage and the Seahawks would of bee fine (It was initially fine). Clark (#55) looks like he is shot out of a cannon and he blows right by Villanueva (#78) for the sack on Roethlisberger.
Pass #37
Situation: 3rd and 13 PIT 27
Description: Q3-(10:08) B. Roethlisberger Pass Short Middle to M. Wheaton to PIT 42 for 15 Yards (E. Thomas)
Wagner (#54) and Thomas (#29) need to be more aware what is going on the play. Wheaton (#11) is running a deep curl route out of the slot and both Thomas and Wagner should have been keying on him. Wagner has no one else close to him underneath so he should be dropping in his coverage to at least the first down line and rally down to anything underneath that shows up later. Instead, he expands in his zone coverage and gets no depth in his drop. He is completely unaware of what Wheaton is doing on his route and leaves the window open for Roethlisberger (#7) to throw through. Thomas should have been flying over to Wheaton earlier as Wheaton is the only receiver in the middle of the field. Instead, he sits flat footed and only reacts to the route when the ball is already in the air. (22/32, 243 Yards, 1 INT)
Pass #38
Situation: 1st and 10 PIT 42
Description: Q3-(9:29) B. Roethlisberger Pass Short Left to A. Brown Pushed Out of Bounds at PIT 49 for 7 Yards (R. Sherman)
This is just the Steelers taking advantage of the leverage of Sherman (#25). Sherman is playing off coverage on Brown (#84) as he is responsible for deep outside third coverage in the Cover 3. Roethlisberger (#7) checks to the quick hitch to Brown and takes advantage of this for a quick gain on first down. (23/33, 250 Yards, 1 INT)
Pass #39
Situation: 2nd and 3 PIT 49
Description: Q3-(8:52) B. Roethlisberger Pass Deep Right to M. Bryants to SEA 11 for 40 Yards (D. Shead)
Shead (#35) doesn’t have the speed to keep up with Bryant (#10) deep and he gets exploited on this play. Shead’s only hope to keep up with Bryant on this route is to jam him on the line of scrimmage effectively. Bryant gets a free release though and runs right by Shead. Roethlisberger (#7) throws this pass as soon as they are even because he knows that Bryant will outrace Shead to the ball. This is proven to be true and the Seahawks give up a big gain. (24/34, 290 Yards, 1 INT)
Pass #40
Situation: 3rd and 9 SEA 10
Description: Q3-(6:46) B. Roethlisberger Scrambles Up the Middle to SEA 2 for 8 Yards (B. Wagner). Fumbles (B. Wagner) and Recovers at SEA 2. B. Roethlisberger to SEA 2 for No Gain (B. Wagner)
The Seahawks do a good job taking away the clearout concept of the Steelers but almost give up a first down due to poor pass rush discipline. The Steelers are trying to run off the defense with a bunch of deep routes and dump the pass off to James (#81) underneath. The Seahawks defend this well though and Lane (#20) is sitting on the crossing route of James. On the pass rush, Rubin (#77) splits DeCastro (#66) and C Cody Wallace (#72) on the pass rush puts gets pushed too far upfield by Wallace. This allows Roethlisberger (#7) to escape the pocket and scramble. Rubin needs to be disciplined and not give Roethlisberger a chance to escape by making sure he is always in front of Roethlisberger. Wagner (#54) bails out Rubin though by closing down on Roethlisberger and preventing the first down pick up.