After being fortunate to pull off a tie against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, one could delve into several noteworthy topics regarding the team. Ben Roethlisberger’s five turnovers were a huge issue. TJ Watt’s four sacks seem to point toward him becoming one of the better defensive players in the game. And James Conner was strong in relief of Le’Veon Bell, though that fumble simply did not help. But for this article, let’s focus on something that fewer people may be talking about.
The injury to Joe Haden and the true harm that it could cause.
This preseason, it was stated that Joe Haden’s health would be extremely important to the team’s success. After all, during the first nine games he played last season, the team only gave up about 182 yards through the air. In the five consecutive games he missed due to injury following that, they gave up an average of 252 yards through the air.
And true to form, as soon as Haden left in the fourth quarter Tyrod Taylor went after his backup, Cameron Sutton, to the tune of a 38 yard completion to Rashard Higgins and a 17 yard touchdown to Josh Gordon (which tied the game). Sutton did nab an interception toward the end of regulation that forced overtime-and also gave Pittsburgh fans hope- which according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Haden was sure to laud him for.
“He created our only turnover,” Haden said. “We have to create more of those. We only had one today. We want to force some more fumbles, pick some more passes, get some more turnovers.”
That said, prior to the injury Haden had made three tackles and broke up two passes. Further, the team was still winning.
There are several important things that caused the tie against the Browns to occur, but the injury to Haden not only impacted this game but could also do the same to the team’s ability to compete against the elite of the AFC. Yep, we’re talking the Patriots, who if you don’t play man-coverage against will torch you every time. Then again, the team just tied Cleveland- even if it probably feels like a loss- so worrying about the elite of the conference may be premature.
The MRI is scheduled for Monday.
If the news is even mildly bad, the Steelers will add defensive struggles to the offensive ones they experienced in their first game, unless Artie Burns, Sutton, and other defensive backs step up in a big way. Haden’s health is likely more important to the team than Bell’s absence, especially considering the way that James Conner is playing. However, with Sutton there is hope, as on top of his interception the coverage on Gordon’s touchdown was solid (it was just a good play by the extremely athletic wideout).
Should get news on this soon.
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