CINCINNATI — Mitch Trubisky did not have the start to his tenure with the Steelers that he or anyone wanted. The starting quarterback struggled with his accuracy and appeared to ebb and flow throughout the game. Either way, he made the necessary plays to improve, but he vowed to improve over the rest of the season.
However, the Steelers missed one key part of Trubisky’s game in the gameplan — his mobility. There were not many rollouts, bootlegs, read options, or anything that allowed Trubisky to utilize his legs. That was not by accident, Trubisky noted. The Bengals have a fearsome duo of pass rushers in Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard that worried the Steelers.
Pittsburgh did neutralize these players for the most part. However, their hot motor and relentlessness worried Matt Canada and Trubisky. So, plays that would involved leaving one of those defenders unblocked even from the backside was a worrying sign. Because of that dynamic skillset and the threat of getting Trubisky hit too hard, the Steelers went away from that in the gameplan. They took out the mobility part of Trubisky’s part to neutralize Cincinnati’s edge rushers.
“I think we did a good job at that,” Trubisky said. “Only one sack, so we protected the football. We have a lot of respect for both of their ends. They’re really good players and we didn’t want them to wreak havoc and generate big plays. We have to find ways to be more aggressive offensively and stay on the field. We can get better in every aspect of the game, but we did execute that part of the game plan.”
Despite many complaints about it, there was a clear play where they may have been proved right. Down in the shadow of their own end zone, Mitch Trubisky did try for a play action rollout. Right as he turned around to start the rollout, Trubisky was slammed by Hubbard, and nearly was charged with a safety. Luckily for Pittsburgh, Trubisky got the ball out in the direction of Freiermuth and they harmlessly punted. However, that is what the Steelers were trying to avoid.
That play is exactly what the Steelers were hoping to avoid. In the future, it seems likely that mobility will be a focal point of the offense. However, for this specific gameplan, Canada and Trubisky decided to fade away from that adversity.