The Pittsburgh Steelers and Mike Tomlin know that in the AFC North, they won’t be winning on quarterback play alone. During an appearance on Movin’ The Chains with Jim Miller and Pat Kirwan, Tomlin talked about the importance of building up Pittsburgh’s offensive line to reduce the pressure on Kenny Pickett.
“We have really fortified ourselves in the offense line, but let’s be honest, we have to,” Tomlin said. “There’s a style of play or a mode of operation that we have to adhere to that may not be quarterback-centric. We got a young quarterback, he’s gonna be a good player for us, but we can’t ask him to carry the day maybe the way that some others will. And so line play on both sides of the ball’s gotta be significant for us.”
This isn’t the first time that Tomlin has said that the Steelers can’t and don’t expect Pickett to outduel the very good group of quarterbacks in the AFC North. So instead, Pittsburgh is embracing counterculture and building up its defense and offensive line so it can look to play bully ball and beat teams by controlling the clock and wearing them down.
It’s not a knock on Pickett, either. He’s just at a different point in his career than Joe Burrow or Lamar Jackson, or even Deshaun Watson, although I’m skeptical Watson will return to his previous form. Pickett only has 12 starts under his belt, and while he’s likely going to take a nice step in his development now that he’s in his second season, we just haven’t seen enough yet that would show that he’s going to be a Burrow- or Jackson-level quarterback this season.
Tomlin and Omar Khan and the rest of the front office recognize that, while acknowledging that Pickett will be a good player in the NFL. He’s a guy who works hard, is smart and is still learning. It’s not hard to see him having success in the league. But the Steelers want to win now, and the way to do so, especially in the AFC North this year, is through building up a good offensive line and a good defensive line that can wear out their opponents.
Offensively, it’s a group that should be improved in the run-blocking department, opening things up for both Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. Harris, who has back-to-back 1,000-plus yard seasons to open his career, could be in line for a career season.
Defensively, creating penetration, collapsing the pocket and closing holes can force a quarterback to make a mistake and throw it up to a secondary that’s going to be eager to force turnovers, or open things up for T.J. Watt or Alex Highsmith to finish the play off with a sack. That’s if Cam Heyward or Larry Ogunjobi don’t get to the quarterback first themselves.
It’s not going to be the spread, wide-open offensive scheme that teams like the Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs have used to win in recent seasons. But it just might work, and no one’s gonna be complaining about what the Steelers do to win games if they find themselves in the postseason.
