While the Pittsburgh Steelers offense has been getting hyped up as a potential top-10 unit, The Ringer’s Sheil Kapadia isn’t buying it. While Kapadia thinks there’s going to be improvement, he has the Steelers offense ranked No. 15 in the NFL. He outlined some of his reasons for apprehension.
“One, its depth will almost certainly be tested more than it was in 2022. The Steelers had the healthiest offense in the NFL last season, according to Football Outsiders’ adjusted games lost metric. And two, I have seen little reason to believe that offensive coordinator Matt Canada can be a difference-maker. The Steelers offense has looked disorganized at times, and in two seasons under Canada, it’s finished 25th and 18th in DVOA,” Kapadia writes.
“If I trusted the coordinator more, I’d be tempted to bump the Steelers up from this spot. I liked what I saw from Pickett last year and think this offense has a chance. But until Canada shows me where he’s giving the Steelers an edge, I can’t go any higher.”
Kapadia’s reasoning is fair, and it’s something that hasn’t been brought up a lot with all the hype Pittsburgh’s offense has been getting. The offensive line sustained zero injuries that caused starters to miss games last season. While Omar Khan worked to add offensive line depth this offseason, it’s something that bears consideration.
And then Canada is the great unknown this season. It’s his last shot to stick as this team’s offensive coordinator, and if the preseason is any indication, there’s going to be improvement. But the question is if that will continue into the regular season, with four quarters to plan for and going up against better competition. Canada hasn’t showed it yet on the big stage, so it’s fair to have apprehension about if he’s really the guy who can guide this offense to the next level.
Honestly, I’m a big fan of where Kapadia has Pittsburgh ranked. I think the offense is going to find itself somewhere in the 12-15 range, average to slightly above average. It’s an improvement over where the offense was for most of the season last year, and with a stout defense, that range is still going to be good enough for Pittsburgh to make the playoffs.
We have to see the offense work in the regular season before anything can be made definitive, and the jump looked real in the regular season. I would love nothing more for the Steelers to have a top-10 offense, but I can’t jump to that after just a few, admittedly awesome, preseason outings by the unit and QB Kenny Pickett. For now, I’m comfortable believing they’ll fall somewhere in the middle, which is still a nice jump from the porous state the offense was in last year.
