Welcome back to SCU Sim Saturday!

We figured out the best way to get an accurate, and realistic, portrayal of the upcoming Steelers game: a Madden 17 simulation.

(Okay it may not be either of those, but it’s fun!)

The Steelers face the Bengals this week, and everybody knows it’s gonna be a blood bath. I ran a Madden simulation as a way to sort-of get a preview of what we can expect from this game. The settings included: all-pro difficulty, 15 minute quarters, and 20 second accelerated clock.

This simulation went a little better than last week’s.

Final Score

Scoring Summary

Quarter 1

• (Cin) Jarius Wright 32 yard touchdown catch
• (Cin) Mike Nugest 19 yard field goal

Quarter 2

• (Pit) Chris Boswell 29 yard field goal

Quarter 3

• (Pit) Jesse James 19 yard touchdown catch
• (Pit) Jarvis Jones fumble recovery touchdown
• (Cin) Mike Nugent 45 yard field goal
• (Pit) Chris Boswell 43 yard field goal

Quarter 4

• (Cin) Giovanni Bernard 1 yard touchdown run
• (Pit) Fitzgerald Toussaint 1 yard touchdown run
• (Pit) David Johnson 2 yard touchdown catch

Key Stats – Steelers

Passing

• Ben Roethlisberger: 24/28, 251 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception

Rushing

• DeAngelo Williams: 25 rushes, 169 yards
• Fitzgerald Toussaint: 8 rushes, 15 yards, 1 touchdown

Receiving

• DeAngelo Willaims: 6 receptions, 54 yards
• Jesse James: 5 receptions, 42 yards, 1 touchdown
• Eli Rogers: 5 receptions, 49 yards
• Antonio Brown: 2 receptions, 32 yards
• David Johnson: 2 receptions, 21 yards, 1 touchdown
• Markus Wheaton: 1 reception, 8 yards

Defense

• Jarvis Jones: 8 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 touchdown
• Cam Heyward: 7 tackles, 1 sack
• Artie Burns: 7 sackles, 1 interception
• Arthur Moats: 5 tackles, 2 sacks

Takeaways

DeAngelo Williams is a beast, both in video games and real life. 169 yards is a lot of rushing yards, but based on his performance against the Redskins, it’s entirely possible.

Antonio Brown somehow got shutdown in this game, which shows how Madden can be unrealistic. The last two times we played the Bengals, Brown caught 6 and 7 balls. I expect those or even more this week.

Brown’s loss was a gain for others. Jesse James, Eli Rogers, and DeAngelo Williams carried this receiving core. Eli Rogers flashed a lot against the Redskins and I highly doubt he’s going to slow down anytime soon.

The Steelers defense flashed in our simulation. Artie Burns get’s the first pick of his career. The Steelers front seven also managed to successfully pressure Dalton all day. Arthur Moats was especially successful, getting 2 sacks.

Don't cross the Moats! @dabody52 CRUSHES Andy Dalton in our upcoming #Madden17 sim of #Steelers #Bengals https://t.co/sTl3sqBwIX

— 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 (@steelcityundrgr) September 16, 2016

Jarvis Jones made the play of the game. Moats came around the edge and sacked Dalton and flung the ball into the air. Jarvis Jones leaped into the air, caught the ball, and ran it into the end zone.

@dabody52 forces a Dalton fumble, returned by @SacManJones_29 for a 36 yard TD in our upcoming #Madden17 si… https://t.co/neDMz4mXjk

— 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 (@steelcityundrgr) September 16, 2016

Awesome.

Key Stats – Bengals

Passing

• Andy Dalton: 23/34, 299 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception

Rushing

• Jeremy Hill: 25 rushes, 101 yards
• Giovanni Bernard: 8 rushes, 18 yards, 1 touchdown

Receiving

• AJ Green: 5 receptions, 71 yards
• Tyler Boyd: 5 receptions, 41 yards
• Brandon LaFell: 3 receptions, 39 yards
• Giovanni Bernard: 3 receptions, 25 yards

Defense

• Marquis Flowers: 4 tackles, 1 sack
• Domato Peko: 3 tackles, 1 sack
• Michael Johnson: 3 tackles, 1 sack
• Carlos Dunlap: 2 tackles, 1 sack

Takeaways

Jeremy Hill had a day, but Madden also predicted Matt Jones would go off against us. The Steelers have a great run defense so this shouldn’t happen.

No surprise AJ Green did well. Regardless of how you feel about the Bengals, there’s no denying he’s a beast.

The Steelers offensive line did a great job opening holes for Williams, but they didn’t do as well protecting Ben…

Final Thoughts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWCZ2cF5A0k&feature=youtu.be

Man I can’t wait for this guy. I hope it stays clean, but it’s exciting watching these two fired up teams play. Thankfully the Steelers were predicted to win, and I do think this will happen.

A big key for the Steelers will be pressuring Dalton, opening holes in the run game, and protecting Ben. All of this starts in the trenches, which will be key in this game. All of this happened in the simulation and ideally it happens on Sunday.

I don’t like taking these simulations too seriously, but I’ll never disagree with any indication that the Steelers will win.