PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Steelers held Washington Commanders star quarterback Jayden Daniels at bay in Sunday’s 28-27 win. Daniels was averaging 51 rushing yards per game coming into Week 10. The Steelers held him to only 5 yards rushing.
Daniels’ 202 passing yards were also the second fewest he’s had this season in a game he’s finished. At 17/34, it was also the first game he completed less than 55% of his passes.
Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said on Thursday that having Justin Fields as the scout team quarterback has been a big positive to simulate Jayden Daniels and Lamar Jackson in practice.
“You can run the offense. You can do all the things that they do without giving anything away,” Austin said.
Fields has also enjoyed the process of giving the defense a good look.
‘It’s fun. I get to go out there and talk a little bit of trash,” Fields said. “Of course, I work on my technique and stuff, and also try new stuff — stuff that I probably wouldn’t do in a game. But it’s always fun.”
Daniels is on track to winning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. However, Jackson is on a different level. He might win his third League MVP this season.
“No, there’s no advantage,” Austin said when asked if there any advantage to playing Daniels and Jackson in back to back weeks given their similar playing styles. “Obviously the guy we’re playing, Lamar [Jackson], is a two-time MVP. He’s had three perfect passer ratings this year in addition to all the other things he does. It’s, again, not a slight to Jayden Daniels, who I think is going to be a fine player. This guy is proven in the NFL, and what you see with Lamar is the fact that, as he gets a little bit older and a little more seasoned in the league, he gets better, and that’s what the great players do. It’s going to be a real challenge.”
The Ravens lead the league in points per game (31.8 average) and rank No. 1 in rushing offense (182.6 average). Through the first 10 weeks of the season, All-Pro running back Derrick Henry has rushed for a league-leading 1,120 yards and 12 touchdowns. The threat of Henry next to Jackson has taken Baltimore’s offense to new heights.
“I think we’ve always known how dangerous he [Lamar Jackson] is. He can beat you running. He can beat you throwing. They’ve really done a good job of surrounding him with really good people,” Austin said. “Obviously the big running back makes a huge difference because of his home run ability. There’s a reason why they’re number one in quite a few categories in terms of offensive production. So it’s going to be a really good test in terms of how we hold up versus this.”
Alan Saunders provided reporting from Pittsburgh.