{"id":27862,"date":"2018-11-07T20:26:03","date_gmt":"2018-11-08T01:26:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test.ngscsports.com\/?p=27862"},"modified":"2020-08-20T11:52:07","modified_gmt":"2020-08-20T15:52:07","slug":"pittsburgh-steelers-vs-carolina-panthers-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ngscsports.com\/2018\/11\/07\/pittsburgh-steelers-vs-carolina-panthers-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"Pittsburgh Steelers vs Carolina Panthers Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Welcome to the most comprehensive Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0Game Day Preview on the internet! This is your one stop shop for everything you need to know about the Steelers and their upcoming opponent! Mike Drakulich of Pittsburgh SportsNation brings you inside the huddle for both teams, providing all fans\u00a0with\u00a0a Game Preview,\u00a0the Steeler’s\u00a0Keys to Victory, Score Prediction, a detailed\u00a0breakdown of each team, Fantasy Football Impact, Game Information, Individual Stats, Team Stats, and the latest Injury\u00a0Report. Heck, you even get the weather at kickoff. The only thing you\u2019re missing is a game uniform!<\/em><\/p>\n

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STEELERS FACE CAROLINA IN PRIME-TIME ON THURSDAY NIGHT AT HEINZ<\/h1>\n

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The 2nd half of the 2018 season starts a few days earlier for the Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2-1) as they face the Carolina Panthers (6-2) this Thursday night at Heinz Field.<\/p>\n

The Steelers come into this game on a roll, winning their past four games. Carolina comes in equally as hot, bringing home victory in five of their past six.<\/p>\n

One of those streaks will come to an abrupt halt, and the team that stands tall will likely be the team that controls the clock and secures the ball the best.<\/p>\n

Despite some early struggles, the Steelers are once again looking like a Super Bowl contender.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a resilient bunch,\u201d said defensive end Cameron Heyward. \u201cWe can dig some holes for ourselves, and we can get out of some holes. There\u2019s trends between our first quarter and our second quarter, and our third quarter hasn\u2019t been defined yet. We look forward to being on the right end of that.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Like the Steelers, Carolina has already dispatched of Baltimore and Cincinnati this season, and will be looking to make it three straight over the AFC North.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey just beat two AFC North opponents already, so it\u2019s time for us to show them that they\u2019re not just going to run the AFC North and bowl us over,\u201d Heyward said. \u201cYou put a lot of respect on what they\u2019ve done and what we\u2019ve done. But this team\u2019s hot and we\u2019ve got to stone them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carolina’s strength is centered around it’s rushing attack, led by Christian McCaffrey, the dual threat RB out of Stanford.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand the job\u2019s not done,\u201d Heyward said. \u201cWe\u2019re going against the No. 2 rushing offense, and we look forward to a test like that, where we can not only keep them from doing anything but make a mark and tell them that you\u2019ve got to be (more than) one-dimensional versus us.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the first part of the year, Pittsburgh’s D was soft as a pillow vs the run, allowing the Chiefs and Browns to run rampant through them. Carolina ranks second in the NFL in rushing at 143.9 yards a game. Luckily, the defense has returned to form, allowing only\u00a064.8 yards a game during their winning streak of four.<\/p>\n

Carolina QB Cam Newton will be priority #1 for the Steelers to neutralize.<\/p>\n

“You should start with Cam Newton because he can run it, he can throw it, he’s strong, he can make all the throws (with) accuracy from a distance standpoint,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said.<\/p>\n

“But I really think what’s going on with them is looking at the infusion of roles between what he and McCaffrey are able to do. You talk about multi-talented players, multidimensional players that are really performing well together.”<\/p>\n

Carolina will also have it’s hands full with Pittsburgh’s running game. James Conner, who has made Steelers fans forget about the whereabouts of holdout Le’Veon Bell, is coming off of AFC Player of the Week and<\/em> Month honors. The offense, as a whole, is heating up at the right time of the year.<\/p>\n

“He’s a beast,” Carolina linebacker\u00a0Luke Kuechly\u00a0said of Conner, according to the Panthers’ website. “They are really good up front — they’re big and physical. They work really together, but that guy is really good. He’s playing with a lot of confidence.<\/p>\n

“He’s like these new-age backs where they are good, obviously, running the ball, but he can catch the ball and cause some mismatches as well.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Last week against the Ravens, who were the #1 ranked defense, the Steelers accumulated 395 yards and converted 10 of 16 third-down attempts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you put a lot into it,\u201d guard Ramon Foster said of the Steelers\u2019 win streak. \u201cWe went against some really good defenses. We went against some teams on the road. We dropped some to a team early on that we ended up getting some get-back on, so I can say definitely from the first Baltimore game to this last one you\u2019ve got to say that we improved.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Steelers Keys To Victory<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Offense<\/h3>\n