Pittsburgh Steelers: Chase Claypool is headed towards stardom
The Steelers beat their fellow in-state opponent, the Philadelphia Eagles 38-29 after coming off their unexpected bye week. Rookie wide receiver Chase Claypool easily had the best game of his NFL career, scoring four touchdowns and adding 110-yards receiving. The Steelers improved to 4-0 on the season, despite having an opponent’s winning percentage of .184. Pittsburgh had a commanding 31-14 lead in the third quarter but allowed a depleted Eagles team to come within two points in the fourth quarter before eventually pulling away.
The biggest lesson from this game though was Claypool’s star potential. Before the season many expected Diontae Johnson to be the breakout receiver. Johnson hasn’t quite exploded the same way some thought he would, but if Claypool can be the next star to put next to a struggling JuJu Smith-Schuster, the Steelers can take their offense to another level. Ben Roethlisberger seems to have knocked the rust off, with 10 touchdowns and only one interception on the season.
If the Steelers can get some of the swagger and firepower back that they had with Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown, they can be serious contenders to challenge Baltimore for the AFC North division crown. Pittsburgh’s defense has not reached its potential either. I would look for the Steelers defense to tighten up this week while preparing to take on that talented Cleveland offense.
Pittsburgh will host Cleveland, winners of four in a row, this upcoming Sunday at 1 p.m. at Heinz Field.