The Pittsburgh Steelers have a decision to make: To go at Marcus Peters or not to go at Marcus Peters.
OK, it’s probably not that simple. The Steelers probably won’t just shut down half the field because Peters, who plays on the left side of the defense, has four interceptions this year.
The Steelers have the most prolific combination in the league in QB Ben Roethlisberger and WR Antonio Brown. Peters has not been the Revis-like shutdown corner where no passes are completed on him. He gives up yards and touchdowns but his speciality is eventually getting one (or two or 13) back. How far do you test him?
That’s a key question in this weekend’s game against the Steelers. The Steelers won’t avoid him completely because Brown’s quickness actually matches up well with Peters. They’re going to get him a time or two (or more).
The Steelers also move Brown all over the place. He could line up outside or in the slot, left side or right side. The Steelers aren’t dumb. They can move him away from Peters if they want to but they may not always want to because Peters has been vulnerable this year despite his picks.
Big Ben is a terrific quarterback. The Chiefs don’t have Justin Houston coming off the edge so he should be pretty comfortable in the pocket. What I found interesting and I didn’t realize until I looked up the stats is that Big Ben has thrown 20 interceptions in his last 14 games. That’s a lot! He has gone interception-free in just two of those games. So, yeah, Big Ben can turn it over.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin showed Peters some respect saying that he is intercepting passes “at an alarming rate.” They know what he can do. It’ll be fun to find out what he can do against the NFL’s best quarterback-receiver combo.