Team Notes Week 6 2020

As Associated Press sports writer Will Graves suggested, stylistically, there are issues. A running game that seems to be all or nothing. A secondary that hasn't been nearly as consistent as it was in 2019. A defense that seemed to have a strange aversion to getting off the field on third down.

And an early schedule littered with teams either rebuilding or underachieving or both.

Yet Mike Tomlin doesn't get caught up in style points. All the Steelers coach knows is his team is undefeated through four games for the first time in 41 years after a 38-29 victory over Philadelphia on Sunday.

"It wasn't a perfect performance by any stretch," Tomlin said. "But we're not looking for perfect. We're looking to be good enough to win."

That's something that hasn't always been the case for Pittsburgh during the opening quarter of the season in Tomlin's highly successful tenure. The Steelers have frequently stubbed their toe in September and early October during his 13-plus years on the job.

In 2017, a team that finished 13-3 fell on the road in Week 3 to a Bears club that went 5-11. In 2016, a group that captured 11 games and reached the AFC championship was blown out in Week 3 by an Eagles team that wound up 7-9 under first-year head coach Doug Pederson and rookie quarterback Carson Wentz. In 2014, the eventual AFC North champions were stunned at home in Week 4 by a Tampa Bay team that earned the No. 1 pick in the 2015 draft after going 2-14.

Tomlin likes to describe the momentum of each season as a "moving train." Typically Pittsburgh takes its time getting it together. Not so much in 2020. Sure, the combined record of the four teams they've played so far is 3-15-1. Given their track record of occasionally spotty work against seemingly overmatched opponents, they'll take it.

So forgive cornerback Steven Nelson if he isn't losing sleep over how the secondary has looked vulnerable, including a curious performance against an undermanned Philadelphia wide receiving corps missing DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery. Travis Fulgham caught 10 passes for 152 yards and the Eagles converted 10 straight third downs at one point to rally from 17 points in the third quarter to nearly steal it late.

"We'll clean it up," said Nelson, who picked off Wentz twice, including a desperation heave in the final minutes to seal it. "We got the win, that's all that matters."

The task figures to get tougher starting next Sunday when the surging -- yes, surging -- Cleveland Browns (4-1) visit. Pittsburgh's next four games are against competition that is a combined 13-5. The Steelers' strong start has given them a little wiggle room in case they stumble a bit down the line.

Other notes of interest. ... Also according to Graves, first-year quarterbacks coach Matt Canada's influence has been noticeable.

When he's not helping Ben Roethlisberger with his footwork or developing Roethlisberger's three backups, he's kicking around concepts with offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner. The little tweaks, including increased use of jet sweeps, end-arounds and unbalanced offensive sets, kept Philadelphia's aggressive front seven off-balance and allowed Roethlisberger to throw 34 passes while getting sacked once.

The Steelers also put up over 30 points for the first time since 2018 and have topped 26 points or more in each of their first four games for the first time in franchise history.

Meanwhile, only three rookie wide receivers in NFL history to score four touchdowns in a single game; Steelers second-round pick Chase Claypool is one of them after finding the end zone four times against the Eagles. He also became the first rookie in NFL history with three receiving touchdowns and a rushing score in one game.

On Wednesday, Claypool was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week.

"He's talented," Roethlisberger said of Claypool. "He has got some God-given abilities that not many people in this world have. He's big, fast and strong, and he's very, very smart. So we're able to do those things like move him around and do some things with him. That last touchdown is a perfect example. Changed the play, and he makes it happen. I just have to give him a little bit of a cue, and it's awesome."

Claypool took to social media after the game, posting a picture of him and Roethlisberger with the message "7/11 ... always open" -- a nod to their uniform numbers.

His monster afternoon -- which included 7 receptions, 110 receiving yards and 6 rushing yards -- got started early when he ran into the end zone on a jet sweep for a 2-yard score after a seven-minute drive in the first quarter. He scored the Steelers' next touchdown a quarter later when Roethlisberger found him for a third-down completion that turned into a 32-yard score and a 14-7 lead.

He added a third score on the Steelers' first drive of the third quarter on a 5-yard reception coming out of a bunched four-man formation on the left side -- a play they've run in practice each week for the past month, but with a new wrinkle Sunday.

"Every single time I've thrown it to Eric Ebron to the other side," Roethlisberger said. "Today they kind of had two guys over there, so I threw it to Chase. We have had that in in practice, and we practice it at least once a week, but I've never thrown it to Chase yet."

According to ESPN.com's Brooke Pryor, as the game progressed, Roethlisberger's trust in the rookie out of Notre Dame was obvious. He looked for him on third downs and gave him a chance to make tough catches. One would-be touchdown got called back when the officials whistled Claypool for offensive pass interference on a sideline reception, and another catch got wiped out when replay determined he got only one foot down on the sideline.

"You've got to make those plays," Claypool said of his third-down conversions. "He's trusting you. He puts a ball right where it needs to be and he's trusting you to make those plays. You make those plays and the trust builds faster than it would."

The fact that Roethlisberger targeted Claypool 11 times -- nearly double the next-most-targeted player (Ebron, six) -- shows the fast rapport the veteran quarterback has built with the rookie, whom he and Tomlin consistently praised during training camp.

Claypool had a limited role in his first two games as a Steeler, but he was efficient with his touches. He caught all five targets in the first two weeks -- including an 84-yard catch-and-run against the Denver Broncos in Week 2. In Week 3, Claypool's snaps increased dramatically after wide receiver Diontae Johnson left with a concussion. Claypool wound up playing 76 percent of snaps in his absence.

A similar thing happened for Claypool against the Eagles on Sunday when Johnson went down with a back injury on a punt return early. Claypool absorbed his snaps and more than made the most of them.

His breakout performance puts him in the conversation with other Steelers such as Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell, who are the only other Steelers players with at least three touchdowns and 100 scrimmage yards in a single game.

But even after such a dynamic and game-changing performance from his rookie, Tomlin downplayed Claypool's day.

"A lot of it may not have to do with him and his skill set," Tomlin said. "We just have a well-balanced attack. We have guys the people have to account for, guys like JuJu Smith-Schuster, guys like Diontae, and Ebron, and I just think that he's probably a good matchup for whoever people have assigned up [on] him from a man-to-man standpoint ... and that's the strength of having a deep group of guys that are capable of making plays. Week in and week out there are going to be different guys that step up and ascend based off the matchups that are presented, and he had a good matchup this week."

Claypool said he appreciated Tomlin keeping his ego in check.

"He definitely kept telling me to stay humble," he said. "That's something I always do in my life. He doesn't have to worry about that. I do appreciate him keeping me grounded because in times like this, you can definitely lose sight of important things. I was staying level headed. I'm enjoying the moment, for sure, but I'm not letting it get to me."

Beyond that, Pryor notes that on the surface, the running game looks like it's doing fine.

The Steelers have topped 100 yards each week but it's been largely hit and miss. Benny Snell Jr. had runs of 30 and 21 yards to top the century mark in the opener. James Conner needed a late 59-yarder to edge over 100 in Week 2. The leading rusher against the Eagles wasn't Conner or Snell but wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud, who picked up 63 yards on a couple of reverses. ...

On the injury front. ... Pro Bowl guard David DeCastro's bumpy 2020 continued when he left in the first quarter with what Tomlin called an abdominal injury. DeCastro missed the first two games due to a knee issue. Center Maurkice Pouncey left in the fourth quarter with a foot problem and Johnson, who left a win over Houston two weeks ago due to a possible concussion, departed in the first quarter with a back injury sustained on a punt return.

Tomlin said on Tuesday that Pouncey's injury should not keep him out. Same with Johnson

That said, Johnson, Smith-Schuster (knee) and Ebron (hand) were all held out of Wednesday's practice.

I'll have more on Johnson via Late-Breaking Update in coming days.

DEPTH CHART
QBs: Mason Rudolph, Mitchell Trubisky, Kenny Pickett
RBs: Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren, Anthony McFarland Jr.
WRs: George Pickens, Diontae Johnson, Allen Robinson, Calvin Austin III, Miles Boykin
TEs: Pat Freiermuth, Darnell Washington