For new Steelers right guard James Daniels, the performance Sunday against the New England Patriots offensively reminded him of his years in Chicago, which created some frustration for himself, he said to reporters in the locker room Sunday afternoon, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Chris Adamski.
On the day, the Steelers gained just 243 yards of total offense on 58 plays, scoring just one offensive touchdown for the second straight week. That lack of production came back to bite them Sunday in a game that was very winnable for a team that had even a semblance of a competent offense at this point in the season.
During his time in Chicago, much of the frustration offensively came with the constant change in play-calling, whether that was head coach Matt Nagy or a variation of offensive coordinators. That also included quarterback Mitch Trubisky, who is now in Pittsburgh with Daniels and had some serious struggles again on Sunday.
While Daniels isn’t throwing Trubisky under the bus, it was a pretty interesting comment from Daniels just two weeks into the season as frustration continues to mount offensively for the Steelers, who have scored just two offensive touchdowns through two games. In those same two games the Steelers’ defense has been lights out, gifting the Steelers’ offense some short fields and even putting points on the board for the black and gold.
Through two games though, it hasn’t mattered much, if at all, as the defense continues to get hung out to try with three-and-outs, short drives and a lack of production from the offense as a whole. It’s certainly frustrating to watch, and has to be increasingly frustrating for the Steelers’ defense early in the season, as they’ve been on the field for more than 77 minutes through two weeks.
At some point soon the Steelers offense has to figure it out, sustain drives and put up points, or the Steelers’ defense is going to be worn out before Halloween.
