There are a number of things that the Pittsburgh Steelers actually do well on offense, and it’s actually something that I’ve already talked about in an article elsewhere today. They have been very good on possession downs and keeping drives alive. They move the ball well between the 20s, and the running game has perked up considerably over the past two months.
The problem is when they get inside the 20 that’s the issue. They have excelled or at least significantly improve in many efficiency metrics, but the red zone isn’t one of them—or scoring touchdowns generally.
Though they average just 17.5 points per game on the season as a whole, things have not gotten dramatically better in spite of some early positive indications. They are still averaging just 20 points per game since the bye, and a mere 16.75 in the past four games. The only game in which they have scored more than 16 points in that four-game run was the game that Mitch Trubisky started. And everyone is amply aware of the scoring problem.
“Obviously, we want to score more points”, offensive coordinator Matt Canada told reporters yesterday, via transcript, referencing the last game. “We had five opportunities drive-wise to score. We’ve got to score touchdowns”.
The Steelers had five possessions that ended at least in field goal range against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, only one of which found the end zone, with all of 56 seconds left to play. They had to settle for four field goal attempts, one of which they missed
“We’ve got 1st and 2 on the two, we’ve got to score a touchdown there”, he said, referring to the opening drive that ended in a field goal. “We had 1st and 10 I think on the 15, and had two runs. As well as we ran it, they didn’t hit quite as well as we wanted to. So, we’ve got to score touchdowns”.
Pittsburgh finished the game 1-for-3 in the red zone, a common theme. Although it hasn’t typically been quite that bad, the fact that they have rarely been able to score more than one or two touchdowns in a game is concerning. They’ve only scored three touchdowns in a game (and never more) just twice all year, scoring one offensive touchdown or fewer in eight out of their 16 games.
For as much positivity as we want to put out there in hyping up young budding talents like Kenny Pickett and George Pickens, the simple fact of the matter is that the Steelers have to find a way to get into the end zone more often in order to build anything sustainable. Because 17 points per game isn’t going to cut it.
