Pittsburgh Steelers: DeAngelo Williams could hit 200 this week
Pittsburgh Steelers star running back DeAngelo Williams has been a revelation this season as the team’s lead guy with Le’Veon Bell injured, and he’s coming off of a 170-yard outburst against an Oakland Raiders defense that was statistically one of the best run defense’s in the NFL coming into that game. With the likes of Khalil Mack and Dan Williams starring up front, the Raiders surrendered just 3.6 yards per carry, but Williams tore them up by averaging 6.3 yards per pop.
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Ben Roethlisberger‘s Week 10 status is in some doubt despite his ability to get in a limited practice yesterday, and it’s hard to gauge just how likely he is to play this week. If he is able to suit up despite picking up another injury of some severity, then there’s a chance he’s limited upon his return. In his first game back from his more serious injury earlier this year, Roethlisberger struggled against the Cincinnati Bengals by throwing three picks in his only multi-interception game of the 2015 season.
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That leaves Williams with plenty of opportunities to carry the rock, and he seems to be fully healthy after last week’s injury scare. Although Williams had some swelling in his foot, he was able to return to practice, and, in fact, he was able to return to a full practice yesterday after unsurprisingly sitting out Wednesday’s session.
This week, the Steelers will take on the rival Cleveland Browns, and Jim O’Neil’s defense is 26th in the league in scoring defense. That’s, uh, not good, but their run defense is even worse than their pass defense. Being 26th in the league in net yards per pass attempt allowed is bad enough, but to average 4.7 yards per carry on top of that is just flat-out disgraceful. For the second straight season, the Browns are one of the league’s worst five run defenses, which doesn’t bode well against a running back like Williams.
Against all the odds, a slimmed-down version of Williams has been one of the best backs in the business this season, and the numbers certainly jump off the page. In the first two weeks of the regular season when Bell was out with a suspension, Williams put up 127 yards against the New England Patriots and blasted the San Francisco 49ers with three rushing touchdowns in Week 2.
Last week’s 170-yard, two-touchdown, 55-receiving-yard performance against Oakland should set Williams up nicely to thoroughly dominate a Browns defense that is averaging over a yard per carry more allowed than the Raiders were before being tramped by Williams in Week 9.
225 yards from scrimmage is undoubtedly impressive, but Williams’s Week 10 encore performance against the Browns defense could be even better. Perhaps he could be limited by his foot injury, and perhaps Roethlisberger’s injury will hurt his efficiency on the ground. But it’s more likely for him to take full advantage of the weak matchup in front of him, and I have a feeling the Steelers will be willing to ride him after giving him 29 touches last week. They don’t have many better options on the ground either, so he’ll continue to be their workhorse.
Look, if Williams can dominate Oakland’s run defense with 170 yards and put up 7.9 yards per carry against the Bengals even with the passing game stagnating (Roethlisberger averaged just 5.8 yards per attempt in that game, in addition to his three interceptions), then you can only imagine what he’ll be able to achieve against a defense that is one of the NFL’s most futile, particularly against the run.
Nov 8, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams (34) scores a touchdown against the Oakland Raiders during the second quarter at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
It may seem crazy, but 200 rushing yards is well within reach for Williams on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET when these two teams battle it out at Heinz Field.
He already proved me wrong in a big way by succeeding here in 2015, so I’m not about to bet against him, especially since he’s showed off vintage moves with massive yards after contact to boot.
After staring a difficult Week 9 matchup in the eye and prospering, Week 10 is Williams’s stage to shine on. It’s worth noting that the only running back to have more rushing yards in a single game this season was Lamar Miller, who shredded the Houston Texans with 175 yards on the ground.
I think Williams has a great chance to top his own rushing total in Week 9 and Miller’s Week 7 mark, so we’ll see if he’s able to accomplish that against a Browns defense that had absolutely no answers for Giovani Bernard and the Bengals last week (152 team rushing yards for Cincy).
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The Browns, by the way, have allowed less than 150 rushing yards in a game just twice this season, less than 100 just once (they allowed 347 passing yards to Philip Rivers in that contest, though), and have already allowed 1,328 yards on the ground which is the most in the NFL.
Enjoy, fantasy owners, because he pretty much has to be the top back this week in all leagues.