With ten days to brush off a lifeless defeat at the hands of the division-rival Baltimore Ravens, the Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1) visit Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium and the Carolina Panthers (2-0) on primetime Sunday Night Football.
Pittsburgh lost by a 26-6 score at Baltimore in Week Two in the league’s weekly Thursday night game, failing to truly compete with the hosts in an important early-season divisional matchup. The team’s focus now turns to the undefeated Panthers and mobile quarterback Cam Newton, who debuted last week after missing Carolina’s first game of the season due to a lingering rib injury. The Panthers have wins at Tampa Bay (without Newton) and a home win last week against Detroit (with Newton). They will look to maintain the early lead in the NFC South, where Tampa Bay and New Orleans are winless and Atlanta improved to 2-1 with Thursday night’s victory.
Newton was 22-34 last week for 281 yards and a touchdown. He ran four times for 19 yards and avoided turnovers in that win. Carolina’s running game has been week thus far, with DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart splitting carries for minimal yardage. Williams has averaged 5.1 yards per carry while Stewart has averaged just 2.4, while neither has cracked 100 total yards on the ground in the first two weeks. However, they get to face a Steelers rush defense that ranks 30th of 32 against opposing rushing offenses in the early going.
Pittsburgh ranks seventh against the pass, so Newton may have to rely on his running backs, his own running ability, tight end Greg Olsen and new star rookie receiver Kelvin Benjamin to establish a balanced offense in this one. With Williams listed as questionable as of the day before the game, Carolina could be without the main weapon in the ground game, forcing Stewart into more carries than he is used to. Williams, Carolina’s all-time leading rusher, has a thigh injury but did practice Friday and is expected to at least start the game. Reserve RB Fozzy Whittaker is listed as doubtful for Sunday night’s game. Carolina could also be missing veteran receivers Jason Avant and Jerricho Cotchery, the latter of whom most recently played for the Steelers before signing with the Panthers in the offseason.
Returning to Carolina will be Steelers safety Mike Mitchell, who has struggled to make much of an impact so far in defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau’s secondary. He and the defense are quite healthy though, while the Panther offense is a bit banged up. The only significant Steelers injuries that could affect playing time are to rookie running back and special teams returner Dri Archer (doubtful with an ankle injury) and guard Ramon Foster. Foster (ankle) has been limited in practice and will likely be replaced by Cody Wallace if he cannot go. Ben Roethlisberger will have two new targets in veteran newcomer Lance Moore and rookie Martavis Bryant, who will debut as Steelers when they return from injuries that have kept them out the first two games. Both are listed as probable and should contribute in the Pittsburgh receiving corps.
Pittsburgh has only ever lost to Carolina once, in Week 17 in 1996, the Panthers third year in existence. Carolina played for the NFC Championship that year, losing to Green Bay. Since then, the Steelers have won all four matchups, including a 27-3 win at home in Week 16 of the 2010 season.
When: Sunday, September 21, 2014 – 8:30 pm EST
Where: Bank of America Stadium – Charlotte, NC
Watch: NBC
Spread: Carolina -3 (via Bovada)
Last Meeting: Pittsburgh won 27-3 in Week 16 of the 2010 season
Keys for Pittsburgh:
1) Forget about last week’s abomination. Baltimore played with extra emotion, considering the difficult week they had surrounding the Ray Rice scandal. Pittsburgh never was able to get going and it was just a forgettable performance. Having been outscored 50-9 in the last six quarters, the Steelers will be desperate to get off to a positive start.
2) Contain Newton and force him to throw the football in order to convert third downs and put points on the board. When he does throw, Greg Olsen must be kept under wraps; otherwise, Carolina will have a lot of easy first downs and success moving the chains.
3) Somebody force a turnover, for crying out loud. The Steelers have coughed up four themselves through two games and have yet to force one of their own. That margin rarely translates to victories in the NFL.
Keys for Carolina:
1) See number 3 above…make life miserable in the trenches for Pittsburgh, where life has been tough so far on both sides of the football. Force fumbles, pressure Roethlisberger into mistakes, and take care of the football yourselves. With success in this area of the game, the Panthers would be very tough to beat.
2) Unleash Kelvin Benjamin. The Steelers secondary has had some major issues in recent years covering top receivers. Last week, it was veteran Steve Smith (a former Panther) causing all sorts of issues. Benjamin is a great talent and will be a challenge for Ike Taylor.
3) Defense, defense, defense. Carolina won its division last season with much credit given to Luke Kuechly and a stout defense. With a banged up offense, they will need to keep the score low and can do so against a struggling Steelers attack.
Prediction: Last week’s prediction was optimistic and, well…wrong. Very wrong. This is a difficult matchup and made even more so due to the primetime atmosphere in front of a fan base that has not had too many such opportunities to show off on national television. Roethlisberger, Bell and the defense will all have to be close to perfect to make this a close game. Newton and the Panthers are clicking in many ways…I think they control the rhythm of the game and win. Final score: Carolina 21, Pittsburgh 13
