38-3.
35-13.
A year ago, the worst-looking offense in football, destroyed by the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles by those scores. A unit that could hardly get a play off without a penalty. Or a turnover. For the first eight weeks of last season, no team beat the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense like the Pittsburgh Steelers. They had quarterback changes. They had no run game. They got blown out. Twice. And everyone was pissed.
To that I say.
Good.
It sucked. It was always going to. Pittsburgh’s offense was a changing of the guard, the post-Ben Roethlisberger era. It wasn’t to be magically fixed in a day. The offense took its lumps and fought its growing pains a year ago. All with the intent of brighter days on the other day.
Turn the lights on, baby. Happy days are here again.
I know it’s only preseason, and the San Francisco 49ers’ tough defense looms large in Week One, but this Pittsburgh offense is night and day from a year ago. They create explosive plays, pass and run game. They utilize the middle of the field. They ran after the catch. They don’t beat themselves.
There was no getting around the ills of last year. It’s better to dive into the deep end and immediately deal with the problems of the NFL’s youngest offense in football, one lacking an identity and vision. Now, everyone is a year older, wiser, and better off for getting the crap kicked out of them last year. Kenny Pickett’s no longer a rookie. Neither is George Pickens. Their games are growing. Pickett is throwing receivers open, hanging better in the pocket. Pickens is winning to all areas of the field, not just deep.
The offensive line, which went through a hell of a boot camp last summer learning Pat Meyer’s aggressive pass-protection techniques, hit the ground running this year. Dan Moore Jr. is holding onto his left tackle job. James Daniels is in the prime of his career at right guard. And Isaac Seumalo has been a seamless fit at left guard, surrounded by a line that can teach him instead of everyone learning themselves.
Pittsburgh’s offseason additions have fit right in. WR Allen Robinson II is who he needs to be. The numbers won’t be pretty, but he’ll make the tough catch. Last night was the perfect example. Third down, settle between two zone defenders, make the grab, take a big shot, hold on, move the sticks. That’s his job this year. TE Darnell Washington’s play has progressed throughout the summer. And WR Calvin Austin III, though technically not an “addition,” is making big plays after missing his entire rookie year.
To get to this point, the Steelers had to start from square one. They had to have fits and starts, trials and errors (and last year, there were lots of errors). No one gets good in a day. Your first day swinging a golf club, it’s gonna suck. It’s gonna hurt. Practice, fix things, you get better.
That’s where Pittsburgh sits today. No, the good times probably won’t always roll along quite like this. They still are unlikely to be a top-five type of offense. It’s not always going to be this perfect. The NFL is hard and comes with its ups and downs. If there’s one thing this league is good at, it’s humbling you.
But the Steelers have shown the signs they’ll battle through. And the growing pains of last year are gone. This is a talented group on offense. One that can produce. And for the first time in a long time, I’m confident they will.
The Steelers’ offense is Andy Dufresne from Shawshank Redemption.
“Crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side.”
2022 was the river. 2023 is the shine.
