Matchup of the Week: Heyward, Hargrave vs. Vikings O-line
What battle will be the one to watch on the field each week?
Steel City Underground has you covered with our “Matchup of the Week” series, which highlights one or more key encounters between the Pittsburgh Steelers and their upcoming opponent.
Last week, we featured a player-on-player matchup in the spotlight, but in Week Two a lot of focus will be on how well the Minnesota Vikings offensive line can stand up to the onslaught that Pittsburgh Steelers defensive linemen Cam Heyward and Javon Hargrave will bring.
Before we talk about the Steelers, let’s look at what the Vikings did against the Saints in Week One. Pat Shurmur called a nice game for Minnesota against what is arguably a New Orleans defense that pales in comparison to what Pittsburgh has put together for the 2017 season. The Vikings offensive line still struggled at times, even though they utilized different personnel and packages up front.
The total snap counts for each package was as follows:
| Personnel Package | Number of Plays |
|---|---|
| 1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR (11) | 36 |
| 1 RB, 2 TE, 2 WR (12) | 14 |
| 2 RB, 2 TE, 1 WR (22) | 3 |
| 2 RB, 1 TE, 2 WR (21) | 3 |
| 2 RB, 0 TE, 3 WR (20) | 3 |
| 1 RB, 0 TE, 4 WR (10) | 3 |
On several plays, the Vikings moved Riley Reiff and Mike Remmers to the same side of the line in an unbalanced formation. Other times they sat tight end Kyle Rudolph on the end of the right side of the line. While it made the offense less predictable than it has been in the past, there were some wrinkles.
The Vikings’ offensive line has improved with the signing of Reiff and Remmers – how could they not after having T.J. Clemmings rank 67th of 69 offensive tackles (in snaps per blown block) – but Remmers ranked 55th and Reiff 28th in that same category. And when Minnesota used both on the left side of the line, they did get some yardage, including a really nice pass from Sam Bradford to Jarius Wright that was highlight reel material.
But the lineup hasn’t improved immensely. Rudolph got lit up when he was asked to block Cameron Jordan on the outside. When the line was unbalanced, the run game – namely Dalvin Cook, who had a decent showing – got stuffed numerous times on that side and Bradford was forced to try to navigate between a tight mess of bodies to get off passes.
The starting lineup this weekend should be (in the order of LT to RT): Reiff, Nick Easton, Pat Elflein, Joe Berger and Remmers. How the Vikings mix and match, depending on the scheme, is unlikely to be nearly as confusing for a Steelers defense that has shown they’re ready to take things up a notch and be more adaptable this season than it was for the Saints.
The Steelers defense amassed seven sacks against the Browns and no one is expecting they add that many week-to-week, but Heyward and Hargrave are hungry; why not feed them?
With Stephon Tuitt out of the lineup due to a biceps injury, L.T. Walton and Tyson Alualu are likely to split snaps. T.J. Watt shifted into the line at times last weekend when Tuitt went down, but up front, the Steelers are hot out of the gate. And Watt was electric at the outside linebacker position.
Hargrave had three tackles and a sack last week. Heyward had two (one assisted) tackles and a sack. It wouldn’t be out of the question for both of them to earn at least another apiece against the Vikings. They are arguably two of the most disruptive defensive linemen in the league and are just getting started on a new season.
Expect the Vikings to attempt madly to adjust as Keith Butler dials up pressure from all angles on Sunday and get ready to watch Heyward and Hargrave ask for more.
