The preseason feels like a long, long time ago and a different sport entirely for the Pittsburgh Steelers, at least offensively.
Sitting at 1-1, the Steelers are in a good spot so early in the year, especially with how abysmal the offense has been under third-year offensive coordinator Matt Canada.
Through two games, the Steelers offense is on pace for the one of the worst seasons in franchise history from a run-game perspective, has run the most plays through two games in franchise history, and yet finds itself sitting 31st in total offense and 26th in point per game.
Yikes.
Those stats and the general showing from the Steelers offense through the first two weeks is the “biggest surprise” for ESPN regarding the Black and Gold, with ESPN.com Steelers beat reporter Brooke Pryor believing that Steelers’ offensive struggles are real and not a mirage.
“This is only a surprise if you thought Matt Canada’s offense would take off in quarterback Kenny Pickett’s second year. Take the preseason for what it’s worth, but in five series, the offense appeared to move the ball more fluidly than in all of 2022. Through two regular-season games, though, the Steelers’ offense is even worse than a year ago, averaging 247 yards and 16.5 points per game,” Pryor writes, according to ESPN.com. “If you remove the 14 points scored by the defense on Monday night, the Steelers are averaging 9.5 points per game on offense, the worst mark in the NFL. They’re also averaging a league-low 12 first downs. Last season, they averaged 20.3 points per game.”
Based on the way the Steelers looked in the preseason and in training camp offensively, the start to the season is very much a surprise. Pickett hasn’t taken the leap that many were expecting entering Year Two. In fact, it feels like he’s regressed a bit, especially from an accuracy standpoint, missing a number of throws through two weeks.
The offensive line has been a mess in protection and hasn’t generated anything in the run game. Through two games Pittsburgh has just 96 net yards running the football. After all the talk all offseason about playing bully ball and knowing what its identity is as a power running team, Pittsburgh has run the football just 31 times through two games. That’s not good enough.
Add in the issues pushing the football down the field and really trying to stretch and stress the defense, and it’s no secret why the offense has been so bad.
On Monday night against Cleveland, Pittsburgh generated just 255 yards of total offense and scored just 13 points total on a 71-yard George Pickens touchdown catch and run from Pickett, Chris Boswell’s 52- and 50-yard field goals and a Boswell extra point after Alex Highsmith and T.J. Watt’s defensive touchdowns.
As Pryor points out, take away the two defensive touchdowns and Pittsburgh’s offense is scoring 9.5 points per game. That is awful, though it’s not at all that surprising overall. Last season, the Steelers scored just 18.1 points per game. That was one of the worst marks in the league.
How it improves this season — and it better fast — is anyone’s guess. A lot of talk about execution but no real schematic changes. We’ll see what the offense looks like in Week Three on the road for Sunday Night Football against the Las Vegas Raiders.
