The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Las Vegas Raiders Sunday night, 23-18, holding off Las Vegas from making a comeback in the final moments of the game. The offense once again started out shaky, going three-and-out on the Steelers’ first two drives. However, things picked up as the game wore on as QB Kenny Pickett and the rest of the passing game got into a little more of a groove compared to their previous two games, making multiple plays in the passing game that resulted in great opportunities to gain yards after the catch.
The Film
The most notable play that sticks out in everybody’s mind is the 72-yard touchdown pass from Pickett to WR Calvin Austin III. On the play, Pickett finds Austin running down the middle of the field on a go route, running away from CB Marcus Peters as he stems his route inside. He catches the pass in stride and pulls away from Peters and S Marcus Epps, finishing in the end zone after catching the ball near the 35-yard line and hitting the gas from there for the house call.
Pittsburgh’s next big YAC play came on a third and five with 11:48 left in the third quarter. On the play, Pickett drops back to pass and finds WR George Pickens getting an inside release on CB Jakorian Bennett, creating a step of separation on the drag route and catching the pass in stride over the middle. Pickens benefits from WR Allen Robinson II running a crossing pattern into Bennett, getting a rub off with Pickens to free him up for the catch. Pickens turns up field after making the reception, running toward the sideline and tiptoes for a few extra yards before getting escorted out of bounds after the 32-yard catch and run.
TE Pat Freiermuth also got more involved Sunday night after being relatively quiet the first couple of weeks. His first reception of the game came on a quick out route from the slot after motioning across the line of scrimmage. Freiermuth gets open after breaking to the sideline, catching the ball with room to run as he turns up field. He gets nearly an extra 10 yards after the catch, picking up the first down.
Conclusion
Austin’s deep ball touchdown may inflate the yard after catch numbers a bit, but it’s promising to see the Steelers have multiple plays in a game where they picked up notable YAC. Yards after catch has been an area that Pittsburgh has struggled with mightily over the last several seasons, particularly in 2022 when receivers like Diontae Johnson and Pickens were near the bottom of the barrel at the position in picking up yards after the catch.
You could see Pittsburgh doing a better job scheming up plays to get its pass catchers in better position to get YAC in this game, like on Pickens’ reception. Pittsburgh’s receivers also have shown more effort when it comes to being intentional about YAC as they fight for every yard after getting wrapped up by the defense. The Steelers said this preseason that the goal was to see a notable improvement in the splash play department as well as in the red zone. Well, through two games, Pittsburgh’s offense has generated more splash in the passing game than the unit did all of last season, having two 70-plus-yard touchdowns as well as Pickens making a 32-yard reception, longer than any catch he had last year.
For Pittsburgh’s offense to take the next step, the Steelers must continue to find ways to get more yards after the catch. We saw a step in the right direction Sunday night against Las Vegas, and given the weapons at Pittsburgh’s disposal on offense, the Steelers are only scratching the surface of what they could be.
