The Arizona Cardinals, sitting at 2-10 after losing two in a row, now travel to face the 7-4 Pittsburgh Steelers on the road. The Cardinals are winless in six games on the road this season and have not won in Pittsburgh since 1969.
The Steelers are an infrequent opponent so this edition of “behind enemy lines” is nice.
Steelers Wire managing editor Curt Popejoy answers a few questions about the Steelers and the matchup this week.
The questions and his answers are below.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
Different Steelers offense
Now that OC Matt Canada is gone, what is different with the Steelers’ offense?
The biggest change we saw last week was QB Kenny Pickett attacking the middle of the field. There had been a stretch of several games where his passing chart showed no passing attempts between the hashes and they went after that early and often without Canada there. They also seem focused on getting the football out of his hands sooner and he’s tucking and running sooner to utilize his athleticism and not drag out a play that isn’t going anywhere.
Kenny Pickett
What does QB Kenny Pickett do well and what are the biggest question marks?
Pickett throws a great deep ball, which was what made Canada’s offense so frustrating to watch. He is very good at putting the football where only his receiver can get it to minimize mistakes. As for his question marks, it is still about him spinning out of the pocket too soon and getting himself in trouble.
The defense
The defense is top five in points allowed but not statistically good with yards or against the run. Which stat is more a true reflection of what the defense actually is?
Probably the points. They do well when the field gets smaller and the offensive playbook gets more predictable. The rushing yardage comes in chunks and is a reflection of the injuries to so many inside linebackers and Minkah Fitzpatrick. They have really tightened things up and Fitzpatrick is back this week.
Matchups
Which matchups are you most excited for? Most worried about?
I want to see if Pickett can take advantage of the injuries the Cardinals have at cornerback. That should really benefit guys like George Pickens and Diontae Johnson. As for my worries, it’s the outside linebackers against Kyler Murray. T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith are great but they tend to crash down too soon and forget contain and against Murray that could be a nightmare.
Prediction!
Who wins this game and how does it go down?
I want to say the Steelers passing game continues to evolve and make this one pretty one-sided. But the reasonable person in me says the Steelers are still going to ease into this new offense and so they keep things conservative. If the Steelers struggle to contain Murray, this one is going to come down right to the wire but I am not sure if comes to that. I’m going Steelers 27, Cardinals 17
