All-32: Tyler Huntley Must Evade Steelers Pass Rush
Welcome to All-32, a game-by-game preview of every matchup on the NFL slate each week. The goal is to provide a look at the most critical part of each game with a marriage of data and film study. As the season rolls along, the focus will narrow in on the specifics, but for this week, many of the featured players and units are big-picture projections for the teams in question.
If you're interested in our game picks, you can find them on this page.
Let's get to it. All times listed as Eastern.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens—Sunday, 8:20 p.m.
Key Player: BAL QB Tyler Huntley
The book on the Ravens all year has been to get to the quarterback. Baltimore's offensive line, while better than last year, is still a bottom-half unit, and the pass-catcher group is one of the worst in the league with Rashod Bateman out of the lineup. The burden of pressure gets thrust upon the Ravens' quarterbacks early and often, and they don't get very much help or easy answers to get out of the jam. Even Lamar Jackson struggled to be productive against pressure this year; Tyler Huntley has only been worse.
Per Sports Info Solutions, 45 quarterbacks have thrown at least 25 passes under pressure this year. Huntley ranks 33rd in adjusted net yards per attempt and 40th in positive play rate (plays with EPA over 0). Jackson's season-long numbers were barely better, to be fair, but we know anecdotally what Jackson can do when the chips are down, and it's far more dangerous than what Huntley has done in his short time starting this season.
The Steelers should be able to get Huntley on the regular. Their season-long pressure numbers are underwhelming, but over the past six weeks, they have found their footing again with T.J. Watt healthier. Since Week 11, the Steelers are 10th in pressure rate on all downs and ninth in pressure rate on third/fourth down, per Sports Info Solutions. The Steelers have capitalized on their pressures over that span, too. They have the second-best EPA allowed per attempt on pressured dropbacks as well as the fifth-highest "bust" rate, the percentage of plays in which the offense loses at least 1 EPA.
It's going to be a long day for Huntley and the Ravens. If Huntley can't find any magic when the walls start closing in on him, the Ravens are going to have a tough time putting more than a couple of scores on the board.
