MEMORABLE SERIES MOMENT
Steelers 24, Falcons 17
Oct. 28, 1974 at Three Rivers Stadium
LInstead of focusing on Sunday night’s game against the 2-4 Jets, let’s look at Monday night’s game 50 years ago against the 2-4 Falcons. The Steelers entered that game 4-1-1 but were changing quarterbacks. Joe Gilliam was the first Black QB to start an NFL season (James Harris started for the AFL’s Bills in their 1969 opener) but he frustrated the coaching staff – in particular OL coach Dan Radakovich – with his playcalling. Chuck Noll let his QBs call plays and Gilliam loved to show off his arm. He threw a then-team record 50 passes in a Week 2 tie against Denver, but what aggravated the OL coach were the six passes called inside the Denver 20 with a 7-point lead in the final eight minutes. Radakovich began pestering Noll in subsequent weeks to make the change to Terry Bradshaw.
“With Bradshaw,” Radakovich wrote in his autobiography, Football Nomad, “I thought we had a better chance to be in the Super Bowl. We already had a great defense and all the offense needed was a quarterback who could pass, call plays, think on his feet, be a leader, control the ball, and – most importantly – audible to running plays when necessary.”
After the tie, the Steelers were blanked by the Raiders as fans were chanting for Bradshaw. Gilliam played well in the next two wins, but in a win over the Browns he completed only 5 of 18 for 78 yards. “Most importantly,” Radakovich wrote,” he did not run the ball in a number of obvious situations, and I had enough. I felt I had an outstanding offensive line to go with our great defense and Joe Gilliam was letting it go to waste.”
In the week leading up to the Monday night game against the Falcons, “Bad Rad” met with Noll three nights in row “trying to get him to bench Gilliam and to give Bradshaw a chance to start. … There was also a ton of speculation in the newspapers and on the radio about benching Gilliam.”
On Thursday, Noll announced that Bradshaw would start against the Falcons in the seventh game. And after practice that day, Radakovich ran into Gilliam in the hallway. “He shouted, ‘Hey Rad, you weren’t part of the lynch mob, were you?’ I said, ‘Joey, not only was I part of it, I led it.'”
Bradshaw completed only 9 of 21 passes for 130 yards and 2 interceptions, but Franco Harris ran for 141 yards and Rocky Bleier ran for 78 in the 24-17 win over Atlanta. Bradshaw was benched for Terry Hanratty a few weeks later, but Hanratty’s passing line read 15-2-63 1 TD/3 INT and Bradshaw was reinstalled the following week and never was benched again on the way to four championships.
TALE OF THE TAPE
“Aaron Rodgers looks arrogant and old. I don’t know, there’s something about him that rubs me the wrong way. I don’t know what it is. I’ve never met the man. I have no right to judge the man from a distance like that. There’s just something about him. I don’t know. What’s important is that we knock the ayahuasca out of him (laughs). I look at Rodgers and he’s obviously the focal point, the driving force there. He’s throwing the ball very quickly, very accurately. But he also is getting sacked, and a 40-year-old taking a sack is a lot different than a 20-year-old taking a sack, and I think some of his inaccuracies come up when he starts getting hit a couple of times. He’s kind of like Bradshaw late in his career, where you start looking for the hit instead of looking down the field at times. Now, that’s not to say he’s not dangerous. He’s very dangerous. Last week was his highest yardage total this year, 294 yards. They’ve got to get after him and they’ve got to get after him big time.” — Steelers Radio analyst Craig Wolfley.
TOP QUESTION
Can the Steelers run the ball and open up the passing game for Russ Wilson?
By selling out to rush the passer, the Jets and their lack of gap integrity have allowed 4.1 yards per carry the last five games. The biggest weakness might be 236-pound defensive end Will McDonald. The Steelers will most likely ramp up Broderick Jones and run right into the pass-rusher’s lap. McDonald does have long arms and explosiveness. It’s led to 7 sacks. But he’s very lean in the hips and legs and should be a point of emphasis for Jones, Darnell Washington, and the Steelers.
THREE QUESTIONS: With QB JUSTIN FIELDS
Is it frustrating if you don’t start, considering how you played the first six games?
“I don’t think I’ve played good enough, if I’m being real with you. If I’m being real with myself, I think if I did play well enough I don’t think there would be any sort of [question] of who should be playing and who should not. At the end of the day, we got a few wins. I’m glad about that, but there are areas that I can get better at, and I’m just going to continue to work on those and continue to get better.”
What are those areas of improvement?
“There’s so much. I feel like this question gets asked a lot. Nobody’s perfect in one area. So if you’re not perfect, then you just want to keep improving.”
Are you motivated by setbacks?
“I think it’s James 1:2 that says find pure joy in trials and tribulations because at the end it’s just going to make you persevere more. So, I just try to fall back on Scripture and at the end of the day just be grateful at the same time, have gratitude for everything that I have, but also not become complacent. So any little setback, I just know it’s going to make me better not only as a person but as a player, too.”
GAME BREAKDOWN
What we’ll see from the Jets tonight at Acrisure Stadium
ON OFFENSE:
The Jets – already blessed with talented wide receivers Garrett Wilson, Allen Lazard, and Mike Williams – traded for Davante Adams this past week. Wilson is the obvious talent, but Lazard has caught 26 passes for 354 yards, and 5 TDs, including Monday night’s sensational 52-yard Hail Mary reception. So where does Adams fit? And what is the potential for team dissension? As for their running game, starter Breece Hall is probably the second-best back on a team averaging only 3.9 per carry. The offensive line, anchored by an over-the-hill Tyron Smith at left tackle, has allowed 11 sacks in the last three games.
ON DEFENSE:
C.J. Mosley is still a fierce lineacker and running mate Quincy Williams is in the same realm. Joined with Jamien Sherwood, the Jets are strong at linebacker, and they’re aided by a stud in front of them, defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. The secondary is a bit banged up. Nickel corner Michael Carter has been ruled out, and underrated outside CB D.J. Reed is questionable with a groin injury. As for Sauce Gardner, the reigning two-time All-Pro CB, Jets pre-game and post-game reporter Willie Colon, who still has ties with his former team, has told sources that Gardner hasn’t been playing well. So, perhaps George Pickens and his little brothers could lift the Steelers’ offense.
PREDICTION
The Steelers are only 10-8 at home on Sunday nights under Mike Tomlin, and are changing to a less mobile, 35-year-old QB behind a patched-up O-line that’s taken another injury hit. But I’m going to stick with my fundamentals. In the last five games against nearly identical W-L-percentaged opponents, the Steelers have a decided advantage at the lines of scrimmage and a big advantage in yards-per-point efficiency. The only Jets advantage is pass defense, but they allow 9.8 yards per completion compared to the Steelers’ 11.1. The latter number isn’t great, but much-improved for the Steelers over recent years. So, these numbers surprise me. And coming off a previous Sunday night home loss, I’m expecting the crowd to be electric for this important conference game, one that has the Jets coming off an important divisional Monday night game. Wilson’s arm is far from shot, and if his mobility is anything like it was in the spring, he’s a viable, winning QB. I’m more impressed by the numbers supporting the Under in this game, but for the important pick I’m bucking Russ’s rust and going with … Steelers, 19-13.
BY THE NUMBERS
4: Hail Mary TD passes by Rodgers are the most in the NFL since the merger in 1970.
7: Consecutive road losses by the Jets to teams that are 2 or more games over .500.
33.3: Red zone TD percentage by the Jets during their current three-game losing streak. Only the Cowboys and Giants have been worse since Week 4.
39.2: QB pressure percentage allowed by the Steelers this season, fifth-highest in the NFL (according to Next Gen Stats). Wilson led the NFL with 11 passing TDs under pressure in 2023. Fields has 1 passing TD under pressure this season.
76: TD passes thrown by Rodgers to former and new teammate Adams, including playoffs. The tandem is tied with Peyton Manning-Reggie Wayne and Drew Brees-Marques Colston for fifth place in NFL history. In fourth place is Ben Roethlisberger-Antonio Brown with 78. First is Manning-Marvin Harrison with 114.
WOLF’S DOWNLOADS
* On the Steelers’ QB change:
“Russ has got an overall command of the offense and this is what they’re looking for. They can challenge the back end of the Jets. I think this offensive line is going to be able to hold up enough and I think Russ is going to be able to move around the pocket and protect himself. I believe they’re going to play Justin. I have no doubt in my mind. You’ve got a playmaker in Russ and you’ve got a game-changer in Justin. He changes the chess pieces on the field, because suddenly things change now that you’ve got to account for him in the Wildcat as well as throwing and scrambling. There’s a difference there that’s a little bit subtle at this point because we haven’t seen it manifest itself in terms of how it would look, but certainly things are going to shift as one or the other is on the field. There are going to be complications that arise from that.”
* On the idea the move will divide the Steelers’ locker room:
“If you’ve got a good locker room, it’s a place where guys are comfortable. There is this sense of culture that every club has and it’s different. It’s unique. These guys aren’t worried about the QB change. As a player, the only thing you’re worried about is doing your job. The only thing you need to know is the quarterback’s voice and his rhythm with the snap count.”
* On his favorite stat of the week:
“With Pat Freiermuth on the field, Pittsburgh averages 4.1 yards per designed rush attempt on 121 carries. Without him on the field, that number falls to 3.1 on 48 rush attempts. Interesting because so many people downgrade Pat’s blocking skills. Pat has worked very hard on improving his blocking. He’s spent a lot of time and put in a lot of effort on getting that accomplished. We saw that on Najee Harris‘s run. Blocking doesn’t have to be blow-them-off-the-line stuff. It’s about getting in the way at times, like he did. He got in the way at the second level and allowed Najee to blow by him. That was a great job. Freiermuth has been a real boon to the running game.”
PARTING SHOT
“He’s had a great week of practice. We’re getting a vet back who is able to balance out the pass rush, and obviously he’s a great run defender.” –– T.J. Watt on the return of Alex Highsmith.
