On PFT Live Tuesday, Mike Florio and Chris Simms debated whether the Pittsburgh Steelers offense would rank in the top, middle, or bottom third of offenses in the league. After a bottom-third finish in 2022, with the Steelers coming in at No. 26 in points per game, both Simms and Florio think that they’ll take the leap to become a top-third offense.
“I’m gonna ride the wave here right now from what I’ve seen,” Simms said. “I know it’s preseason football, but every year there’s teams that look a certain way in the preseason and then it carries over into the regular season. I think this is real. I think there’s something real around this football team in general right now.”
Florio thinks Pittsburgh’s defense will give the offense short fields and more opportunities.
“I’m gonna go top-third as well,” he said. “We talk about offensive and defensive units in a vacuum sometimes, but one thing that’s going to help the Steelers’ offense is that defense.”
We saw the Steelers capitalize off a short field in their 27-15 win over the Buffalo Bills last Saturday. After the offense forced a three-and-out, Calvin Austin III returned the ensuing punt 54 yards and Pittsburgh struck with a 25-yard touchdown from QB Kenny Pickett to TE Pat Freiermuth. If the defense can force turnovers and create opportunities for the Steelers to score quickly, then it’s reasonable to expect them to be a top-12 NFL offense.
Offensive coordinator Matt Canada said yesterday that the game is slowing down for Pickett, and as he enters Year Two and the rest of the young offense develops, there’s going to be growth. Jumping from 26th in the league in points per game to somewhere in the top 12 or better would be a major sign of growth out of the offense.
We’re seeing some changes already with the team being more explosive, as both of Pickett’s passing touchdowns have been explosive plays. When you factor in Austin’s 67-yard touchdown reception from QB Mason Rudolph and RB Jaylen Warren’s 62-yard touchdown run, it’s fair to expect this offense to be a heck of a lot more explosive than it was last year.
You can’t overreact too much from preseason results, but the changes at the core of the offense have been exciting to see, and that’s the stuff that can carry over into the regular season. The Steelers’ first-team offense has played three total series, and in all three they’ve found the end zone.
It’s certainly promising with the regular season just a few weeks away, and I don’t think it’s all that ludicrous to expect a top-10 or top-12 scoring offense. If that’s the case, coupled with a really talented team, this Steelers team is going to be dangerous in 2023.
