The Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the Buffalo Bills 26-7, having many negative headlines coming out of the game, including the team’s poor run defense, the state of the offense being unable to move the ball, and the “Fire Tomlin” chants that rained down from the stands as the game got out of reach. However, one bright spot coming out of Sunday’s performance was the debut of CB Asante Samuel Jr., who got his first defensive snaps since signing with Pittsburgh earlier in November.
Samuel played 28 defensive snaps and three on special teams, according to Pro Football Reference, after CB James Pierre suffered a concussion, earning the defense’s third-highest grade on the week, according to Pro Football Focus, for his efforts.
THE FILM
When you dive into the film on Samuel, you see why he was viewed with high regard by PFF. He logged just three total tackles on the night (one solo), but he showed a willingness to come up and tackle, which has been a weakness in his game to date. Watch this rep where Samuel takes out RB James Cook’s legs on a tackle as Cook attempts to get to the sideline, breaking down as he approaches the runner and goes through Cook’s lower half to take out his motor for the stop.
Samuel hadn’t played for over a calendar year due to a spinal fusion surgery, but he wasn’t afraid of contact upon returning to the game on Sunday night. Watch this rep below as Cook busts through the line of scrimmage untouched into the secondary, as Samuel and Joey Porter Jr. are the only guys that can prevent him from getting into the end zone. Samuel latches onto Cook’s back and wrestles him to the ground as Porter tries to assist, keeping Cook from the long house call.
While Samuel displayed a willingness to put his face in the fan in run support, he can improve his consistency in his physicality and demeanor as a tackler. Watch this rep against Cook where Samuel closes the distance as Cook attempts to bounce the run outside, while Samuel stays in place, trying not to let Cook make him miss.
Samuel pursues Cook toward the sideline as he works to wrestle him out, as Nick Herbig flies in to knock Cook out of bounds. Samuel could have run through as a tackler closer to the line of scrimmage, but played it safe as he was the last line of defense, preventing Cook from getting loose in the secondary.
On Josh Allen’s lone touchdown pass of the night to WR Keon Coleman, Samuel is in pursuit of Coleman, as you can see in the clip below. However, it appears this rep is a pure coverage bust by Pittsburgh, as several defenders are pointing around and yelling before the snap, indicating the defense as a whole was not on the same page with the play call.
Coleman runs underneath across LB Payton Wilson’s face as he goes out to cover the tight end in the flat, crossing the face of S Kyle Dugger as well, who hesitates toward the tight end before going to try and catch up to Coleman as well, indicating miscommunication on Pittsburgh’s side resulting in the touchdown.
Samuel otherwise played well in coverage throughout the contest, not allowing a reception as he played sticky coverage and minimized separation from receivers. Watch this rep where Samuel covers WR Brandin Cooks at the top of the screen, staying with Cooks stride-for-stride on the skinny post toward the end zone, making QB Josh Allen go to his check-down option in the flat.
For not playing football in over a year and getting thrust into action after Pierre got hurt, Samuel played well against a Bills offense that mainly asserted their authority on the ground in this contest. Still, Samuel played in position and did his part in run support, playing a nearly spotless game outside of that coverage bust for a touchdown.
Samuel is still a young player at only 26 years old, and could be an option for the future should he and Pittsburgh have mutual interest in coming back to the table after the season to negotiate terms of a multi-year deal, should he continue to play well the rest of the year in the Black and Gold.