The Pittsburgh Steelers are set to face off against the Arizona Cardinals later this afternoon in their Week 13 matchup. Pittsburgh is looking to make it two victories in a row after defeating the Cincinnati Bengals last week.
They have been playing some solid football recently, winning three out of their last four games. A lot of focus has been on the offensive side of the ball during that stretch as the Steelers fired offensive coordinator Matt Canada following their Week 11 game against the Cleveland Browns.
The change seemed to work, as the Pittsburgh offense looked like a totally different unit with Mike Sullivan calling the plays. The Steelers gained 421 total yards of offense after not reaching the 400-yard plateau even once during Canada’s tenure.
People are excited about what could come for an offense that took more shots and worked the middle of the field. This is a unit that looks like it can competently move the ball; now they just have to figure out how to punch it into the end zone more often.
While the improvement offensively is what everyone wants to talk about, an improvement could be coming on the defensive side of the ball. An already strong unit has been dealing with a number of injuries throughout the season, but that is about to change against the Cardinals.
Through Week 12, edge-rushing linebackers T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, defensive tackle Cam Heyward and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick have played all of two series together according to Nick Farabaugh of Steelers Now. Heyward suffered a groin injury in Week 1 and when he came back, Fitzpatrick was sidelined.
None of those four players have received an injury designation heading into the game. For the first time since Week 1, all four of the core Steelers defenders will be on the field together, which could spell bad news for the Cardinals. Defensive tackle Montravious Adams is the only player listed on the injury report, as he is questionable with an ankle ailment.
Despite the absences, the Steelers have the No. 9 graded defensive according to PFF. Their run defense is ranked 10th, their pass rush is ranked 6th and they earned the No. 11 ranked coverage grade as well. Those are all solid but could improve now that the group is healthy and ready to go.
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