Don’t look now, but the Pittsburgh Steelers are on a six-game preseason winning streak. Did you even remember that they went undefeated in the preseason in 2022? Did you see how much that mattered? What makes this year’s undefeated run any different?
“I’m happy with where we are. But I probably felt like a year ago”, offensive coordinator Matt Canada told reporters yesterday, via transcript, when asked about the differences between the two 3-0 preseason teams. “We felt like we were on the right track”.
Those games were rather different. While they went on 14-0 early in week one, they still surrendered 25 points, for example. A week later, they narrowly beat the Jaguars with nine unanswered points in the fourth quarter. They didn’t score a touchdown in the final until the waning seconds of the first half. This year, they were in control of each game virtually from start to finish. It certainly felt different.
“We have an identity amongst our team”, Canada said. “I think we know who we are. I think Kenny [Pickett] being the quarterback and having all the reps and the timing and all those things [makes a difference]. I think that’s better”.
“But as I was saying nothing matters until we play a real game”.
And that’s the real key, of course. It doesn’t matter how this year compares to last year. it doesn’t matter how good things went during the preseason. It matters what happens on Sundays for the next few months, because the preseason is as different from the regular season as any one preseason is from the next.
It would be ignorance not to see significant differences, though, with Pickett and his status being the most obvious. He spent most of his rookie offseason as a third-string quarterback. Now he’s had an entire offseason during which he has been the unquestioned leader with everything being geared toward maximizing his chances of succeeding.
It’s also the second year for WR George Pickens, for RB Jaylen Warren, even for a defensive chess piece like DL DeMarvin Leal. We have the prospect of rookies contributing like CB Joey Porter Jr. and DL Keeanu Benton and OLB Nick Herbig. First-round T Broderick Jones is going to play even if he doesn’t start, surely working as a sixth lineman.
One of the most overlooked differences from last year to this year, in my opinion, is the maturation of offensive line coach Pat Meyer’s system. A lot of the guys seemed to struggle adjusting to what he was asking them to do initially. Most of the guys from last year are back, and they have helped the new pieces adjust accordingly. An improved offensive line is going to make every phase of the offense better and help mask shortcomings.
All of those things translate from preseason play to the regular season. You don’t need to compare it to other years or to even look at the scoreboard for that. Just look at how those players, those units performed, their talent, their comfort level, their cohesion. That’s tangible.
