PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Understandable why some Steelers fans are worried about the Seahawks even without starting quarterback Russell Wilson Sunday night at Heinz Field.
The last backup QB to start against the Steelers, Ryan Finley in Cincinnati. A Bengals upset win in prime time.
The previous three backups to play against the Steelers did lose. However, Robert Griffin III and Tracy McSorley nearly beat the Steelers at home, losing by five. Garrett Gilbert threw for 243 yards as Dallas led the Steelers by 10 in the fourth quarter. Pittsburgh did win that game by five as well.
Also in 2020, Denver’s Drew Lock injured early as backup Jeff Driskel threw for 256 yards and two touchdown as the Steelers won that game at home by seven.
So on the surface, Steelers were 3-1 against backups. Reality is even the three wins were struggles, two of those games at home.
Seattle’s Geno Smith is the first backup the Steelers faced this season. Unlike many second stringers, this will be Smith’s 32nd career NFL start. The 31-year-old was a high second round pick by the Jets in 2013. He came in last week for Russell Wilson, 10 of 17 for 131 yards, a touchdown and a pick in a loss to the Rams.
In his last two seasons at West Virginia in 2011 and 2012, Smith threw for 8,590 yards with 73 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
Here is what the Steelers are saying about this matchup.
Safety Terrell Edmunds
“Nothing is different because everyone in the NFL is capable. Some people can make more plays than others, but everyone is capable of making big plays. Got to put respect on his name and go out there and compete like we are going against the MVP candidate. We got to continue to go out and fight hard. Let’s go get a win.”
Linebacker Joe Schobert
“I think Mike T doesn’t really allow that to happen,” Schobert said of taking Seattle lightly. “When you are in meetings in the morning. That’s now how information is presented to us. He’s been with the offensive coordinator for a couple of years in two different cities. I know they are going to be comfortable running their normal offense with them. We are going to prepare like normal.”
Linebacker TJ Watt
“He’s been in the system for quite some time. This isn’t a situation where they are just going to hand the ball off and not trust him. They have a lot of trust in him just off the last game they played even though it was the back half of the game. He was slinging the ball. He looks comfortable in the pocket & he is dangerous with his legs as well. It will be a great challenge for us.”
Defensive Coordinator Keith Butler
He hasn’t played a lot of plays so we’re guessing a little bit in terms of what they’re gonna do. But for the most part, if we lose a guy on defense, we don’t change a whole lot. If you change a whole lot, then everybody’s gotta remember something else. If you’ve got to remember something else, you’re gonna make mental mistakes. You make mental mistakes, it’s gonna screw everybody up. So, I think they’ll try to stay with what they do offensively.
Head Coach Mike Tomlin
“Geno is no pup. He's been in this League for an extended period of time now. He's got experience in this system. He's been in Seattle a number of years. He was with the coordinator for the Chargers before he and the coordinator went to Seattle, and so he's got some understanding about how that system of football is
built.”
“He's 31 years old. He's been in this League now a long time. I would imagine he's in place there because he gives them an opportunity to function in a very similar manner, at least schematically, in terms of their personality. That's what we're anticipating.”
“We’ve got a lot of respect for Geno.
We’ve played against him in the past. We’ve got a lot of respect for their system of football and how they spread the ball around to a bunch of dangerous eligibles.”
Defensive captain Cam Heyward
“It’s a little bit different than Russell, so you have to be on your P’s and Q’s. Geno only had the half. He’s been in this league a while. We are going to have our work cut out.”
“The thing that really jumps out to you, it wasn’t like there was a big letdown,” Heyward said about the second half of the game against the Rams. “He was able to rally the troops. That one pass he had at the end in the corner I thought was pretty good. They are not going to change up much. He’s able to extend the pocket a little bit more. He has experience starting. This isn’t his first rodeo.”
“He’s got some explosive playmakers. We got to get him on the ground. We have to put him in situations where they have to throw the ball because they have Alex Collins and Chris Carson running the ball. They have a lot of success and a lot of big plays. If we can limit the run game and really get after the pass. It will be a good day for us.”
Explosive playmakers
To Heyward’s point, Seattle has the NFC’s leader in touchdown receptions, 6’4”, 235-pound DK Metcalf. They also have the NFC’s leader in 40-plus yard receptions, Tyler Lockett.
Leading rusher Chris Carson is out for Sunday, but Alex Collins averages 4.4 yards a carry. The former Arkansas star rushed for 973 yards in 2017 for the Ravens.
The stars are aligning for a Steelers win and getting back to .500. Don’t count on it to be easy and if they aren’t ready. They’ll be a lot to discuss during the bye week.