The 10 Most Impactful Plays of Week 5
4. Bombs Away for the Bumblebee Bad Boys
Win Probability Added: +11.83
NEP: +7.14
Speaking of egregious crimes against humanity, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ black-and-yellow striped throwback uniforms are absolutely an unnatural disaster. I will be very grateful for their eventual replacement in the team’s dress code rotation. But what made these bumblebee eyesores look like a winter’s day painted by Currier and Ives was the connection that air raid artist/quarterback Ben Roethlisberger made all day with wide receiver Sammie Coates.
Third-and-seven is never a place you prefer to be as an offense. It’s no 4th-and-29 or anything, but it’s not like you’re a quarterback sneak away from a new set of downs. Still, that didn’t faze Steelers’ offensive coordinator Todd Haley last week as he dialed up a gutsy call in the first quarter of this game.
On this down, the Steelers’ receivers burst from a trips bunch formation on the right side, and Coates’ route took him zooming downfield. Within five yards, he was already well past his cover man, Marcus Williams, and had his eyes trailing him in the sky. Roethlisberger rainbowed the pass to him, and Coates had widened his distance by five yards and growing. The secondary never had a chance.
