Panthers defense will be tested by the high octane Steelers offense on a short week

The Panthers will be tasked with limiting the Steelers high powered offense with little time to prepare.

The Carolina Panthers defense seems to be finding its stride in recent weeks. They gave up 28 points to the Buccaneers, but only ceded 4.6 yards per play to what had been the NFL’s best offense in terms of offense coming into the week. That performance was preceded by holding the Eagles and Ravens to 17 and 21 points respectively, both below those team’s averages.

But tonight’s test will be tougher than any of the previous three. The Pittsburgh Steelers enter this Week 10 showdown ranked fourth in the NFL in total yards and ninth in scoring. They scored 74 total points in their last two home games, which is part of a four game winning streak they’re currently riding. Even without Le’Veon Bell, the Steelers offense is humming.

With little time to prepare, it’s unfair to expect the Panthers defense to completely stifle Ben Roethlisberger and company. The Steelers are going to move the ball. They’re going to score points. But there are things the defense can do to give the Panthers a chance:

• Tighten up in the red zone. The Steelers have the second most efficient red zone offense. The Panthers have the second least efficient red zone defense. Weird stuff happens on Thursday nights, and that needs to be the case here. With the Steelers boasting too many weapons to completely shut down, the Panthers defense will need to force field goal attempts instead of touchdowns at the very least. As an added bonus, kicker Chris Boswell has missed three of his ten field goal attempts and four extra point tries, so field goal attempts are not free points for the Steelers.
• Get Ben Roethlisberger all the way to the ground. Big Ben is one of the league’s best quarterbacks at escaping from sacks. Whether it be because his feet are planted so firmly in the ground that he won’t fall or because he makes an ill advised pass while in the grasp of defenders that somehow doesn’t get intercepted, he’s almost unsackable. The Steelers are one of only three teams that have allowed fewer sacks than the Panthers this year, giving up only 11 all year. The Panthers have averaged a respectable three sacks per game over their last three, with defensive end Mario Addison accounting for four total during that stretch. They need to build off that momentum tonight.
• Limit run after catch yards. The Steelers have three players in the top twenty in total yards after catch this season- Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and James Conner. All three are dynamic with the ball in their hands, so the secondary and the linebackers need be sure with their tackling.

The Panthers defense will be stretched to their limit tonight, but recent performances suggest that they could be up to the task. The Steelers defense, while better lately, is fallible. Just like last week, the defense just needs to make a few big plays and key stops to give the Panthers a chance to win.

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