At the most fundamental level, an NFL offense has one job. Score points. Doesn’t matter how, by air or by ground, they just have to put points on the board. Especially in 2023 when modern NFL offenses can rack up 30 without breaking a sweat.
It makes the position the Pittsburgh Steelers are in all the more dubious. For the past two seasons, they’ve ranked in the 20’s when it comes to points per game. In 2021, they were 21st. Last year, they slipped even further to 26th.
Should the Steelers finish in the 20’s in scoring offense for a third straight year in 2023, it’ll be the first time in team history they’ve ever accomplished that. Not exactly a record you want to be known for.
To be a little fair, the NFL hasn’t always had even 20 teams in the league. That didn’t occur until the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 when they went to 26 total clubs, slowly expanding since then. Still, it’s been more than a 50-year sample size and the Steelers are threatening to land in historically bad territory.
In Ben Roethlisberger’s final year, the team only averaged 20.2 points per game. Rarely was there an offensive explosion that could help skew the numbers upward. A potent offense who can ring up a couple of 40-burgers help cancel out the occasional dud of a game. Only once in 2021 did the Steelers exceed 30 points and that came in a 41-37 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. In more than half their games they were held under 20 points, going 3-5-1 in those contests.
Things didn’t get better in 2022. With the youngest offense in football, Pittsburgh finished the year at 18.1 PPG and that was thanks to a second-half “surge” that saw them average a touch over 20 points per game. Again, the Steelers only scored 30 points in one game, coming in another loss (37-30 to Cincinnati) and for the second straight year, were held under 20 points in nine of their games.
To really hammer home the sadness, some stats across the 2021-2022 seasons:
– Pittsburgh’s two games of 30+ points are 31st in the league, only ahead of the New York Giants’ one. By comparison, the most in the league over that span is 17.
– Pittsburgh’s 18 games of being held under 20 points is tied for 27th most/worst in football. The only teams who have done it more often are the Denver Broncos, New York Jets, and Houston Texans. Again by comparison, the leaders come in at four (Philadelphia and Kansas City).
Everything about that is as awful as it is unacceptable.
There’s only been a handful of times in team history where they’ve had back-to-back scoring seasons in the 20s. Prior to this run, 2011-2012 was the most recent example before finishing 16th in 2013. 1989-1990 was another two-year stretch. But that’s it. This is just the third time the Steelers have ever done it two consecutive years, honestly a pretty impressive feat. Pittsburgh’s had some stinky offenses over the years that have still managed to be something close to average. Right now, the Steelers are firmly below average.
2023 will bring reasons for optimism. The offense looks better. Kenny Pickett is one of several key offensive pieces going into their second year, though he’s by far the most important. There’s also WR George Pickens, who certainly flashed as a rookie, while UDFA RB Jaylen Warren has been a gem of a find. The offensive line looks better across the board and the skill players have talent and adequate depth.
Expecting the Steelers to finish the year as a top-five offense is unrealistic. Top ten is probably asking too much. But there needs to be improvement, out of the 20’s and hopefully at least slightly above average. A third-straight season of these problems will have the whole offense being reevaluated in coaching, personnel, and team philosophy.
