Key Questions
Is “Double Trouble” making a comeback?
Remember these guys?
There used to be a time when both Jonathan Stewart & Deangelo Williams were wreaking havoc on opposing run defenses. But in the past couple of years it’s mostly been a one man show, depending on who was injured at the time. Although Williams missed last game with a thigh injury, Coach Ron Rivera is optimistic he will be ready to go come back Sunday night. This might mean trouble for a suspect Pittsburgh defense that has given up over 150 rushing yards the past two games against the Browns & the Ravens (Do we even know the starting running backs for those teams?).While we haven’t seen a breakout game from both Stewart & Williams in a long time, this Sunday night we may see the return of a deadly combination.
How is Todd Haley & Big Ben going to attack the Carolina Defense?
This is a tricky one because it’s still early in the season and we really don’t know for sure what to make of this Pittsburgh Steelers Offense. We know Big Ben, we know Antonio Brown, & we know of Le’Veon Bells potential for greatness as a running back (And his fondness of hot-boxing on the way to airports.) But the thing is, we STILL don’t know if the Steelers offense is good enough. There’s no question that Carolina’s defense is still one of the best in the league. And nobody is confusing Antonio Brown for Megatron. So how in the heck is Ben Roethlisberger going to move the ball on Luke Kuechly & company? The best bet is probably for them to maintain a balanced attack. The Detroit Lions pretty much stopped trying to run the football after the first half against the Panthers, trying to rely solely on the pass. Needless to say, it didn’t go so well.
One Time for the Gamblers: The Carolina Panthers are currently -3.5 Favorites over the Steelers & have not lost a home game going back to Week 1 of Last year against the Seattle Seahawks.
One Time For Fantasy:
Players you should consider starting in this game: Greg Olsen, Cam Newton, Panthers D/ST
Players you should avoid in this game: Any Steelers Offensive Player. (Seriously just bench them, don’t mess with this Carolina Defense.)
Prediction: Based off of the first two games, these teams have shown to be consistent to what they were last year. Carolina has shown that they are still the same playoff caliber team from last year with a great defense even without Greg Hardy playing. And the Steelers so far have shown that they are still the same consistently inconsistent team from last year who went 8-8. That equates to a mismatch in this Sunday Night showdown. Unless this young Steelers defense turns back the time to when they were actually good, we don’t see the Steelers keeping pace at home with this Panthers Squad. Final Score: 27-7
– JRC
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