–The Steelers did something new against the Patriots that they hadn’t done much of all season. They featured five receivers. It was something first-year offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner came up with last week after Eli Rogers came off the physically unable to perform list.
Against the Patriots, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger completed passes to eight different receivers. It wasn’t his most prolific performance of the season, but it was a winning performance against a team they hadn’t beaten since 2011.
“It gives us a lot of weapons,” Roethlisberger said. “Obviously, we’re limited in some of the things we can do, but it creates some mismatch opportunities. It’s just about finding the right mismatch or the right opportunity that’s available for us.”
The Steelers could do more of the same in the final two weeks of the regular season. They already have the top receiver duo in the league with Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster. Perhaps the best sign for Roethlisberger and Fichtner was the emergence of rookie James Washington, who set career highs in catches (three) and yards (65) against the Patriots. Ryan Switzer has been effective as well, and Rogers caught four passes for 20 yards in his season debut.
“There are opportunities there for different guys. We can move them around and put them in different spots. It puts a lot on them when I do move them around, what they’re supposed to run. I may just call a concept and they need to know what they’re supposed to do. It puts more on them, but they executed it really, really well.”
–The Steelers held a kicking competition last week, but decided to stick with Chris Boswell, who was 1 for 2 against the Patriots. Boswell is now converting field goals at just a 61.1 percent clip, but head coach Mike Tomlin said Boswell will remain the kicker again this week in New Orleans.
Boswell missed a 32-yard field goal in the third quarter, but he did make a 48-yarder late in the fourth quarter to give the Steelers a seven-point lead. Boswell has had a hard time on mid-range kicks this year. He also has missed five extra points, which are 33-yard attempts.
Boswell is hoping the 48-yard field goal can get him back on track. It broke a streak of three consecutive misses dating back to the 24-21 loss in Oakland. Boswell’s inconsistency is one of the main reasons the Steelers have not yet clinched a playoff berth. He also had crucial misses in a loss to Denver and a tie against Cleveland when he missed in overtime.
BY THE NUMBERS: 18 – Number of sacks for T.J. Watt in his first two NFL seasons, the most by a Steelers player since the sack became an official statistic in 1982. LaMarr Woodley previously held the record with 15.5 sacks in his first two seasons in 2007 and 2008.
