The Pittsburgh Steelers found a good solution to help their defense overcome its issues with age and injuries on Sunday night: Keep the offense on the field.
If there's an ideal game plan for offensive coordinator Todd Haley, it's what the Steelers executed in their 24-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals—in a game that wasn't as close as the score might indicate. Haley could have done without the two turnovers from his quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, and drops by his speediest wide receiver, Mike Wallace, but there should be few other complaints.
Most important for the Steelers was striking the balance that coach Mike Tomlin has been striving for. Despite not having their top two running backs, Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman, they found their most pleasing rushing effort of the season. The young power-speed combination of Jonathan Dwyer and Chris Rainey led a dominant 167-yard committee effort on 29 total attempts.
Roethlisberger still threw 37 times for 278 yards and a touchdown, but there was much less of a burden on him. He had been carrying the offense with his mostly exceptional play so far this season, but for a change his job was made much easier.
In addition to eating up key chunks of yardage throughout the game and whittling the clock to preserve the lead in the fourth quarter, the running attack came with plenty of other benefits.
By winning often on first and second down, the Steelers converted their third-down attempts at a great rate (10-for-16). They were better in the red zone, scoring two touchdowns in three opportunities, including on a run by Rainey. The good running set up Roethlisberger to spread the ball downfield to his four best receivers. The Steelers controlled the ball for long stretches and 37:30 of game time in all—exactly a quarter more than the Bengals possessed it.
That all created the bonus benefit of giving their older defense the fresh legs needed to aggressively frustrate Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton up front and take away wide receiver A.J. Green downfield.
The Steelers, with Troy Polamalu still ailing and with fellow back seven veterans such as James Harrison and Ike Taylor no longer capable of making a big impact, can't afford to roll with a quick-strike, pass-happy mentality. They need to remain more methodical with their offense so as not to overexpose the defense.
The Bengals cooperated with an uninspired, unaggressive offensive game plan that didn't effectively go after the Steelers' defensive weaknesses. But there will be other, better teams (see the rival Baltimore Ravens) that can exploit those holes—especially in pass coverage.
One thing that's not a weakness is the Steelers' offensive line. Even with first-round guard David DeCastro injured, the unit has been protecting Roethlisberger well and on Sunday showed it has pretty good run blockers, too. Another positive: Rookie right tackle Mike Adams is starting to become a bigger factor in the scheme.
Many teams in the NFL don't know how to use one strength to offset a weakness. But the Steelers are figuring that out—and the slow and steady approach is just what they need to stay strong in the playoff race.
