The mantra when it comes to offensive football in today’s game is that you want to play smart, play fast and most importantly, play physical.
The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t do any of those in the Week One loss to the San Francisco 49ers, for the most part.
Few decisions were smart offensively in the loss, and the Steelers certainly weren’t a physical team. However, when they did play fast, particularly late in the first half on the only scoring drive of the game from the Black and Gold, it was successful.
Third-year running back Najee Harris wants to see the Steelers play with more pace and overall tempo offensively in an effort to give them momentum and put them in advantageous situations against defenses.
Speaking with the media Wednesday following practice at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side, Harris highlighted the benefits of playing with tempo and how it can help the Steelers, especially early in the season.
“Tempo works out, for the most part. Us just having one-word plays and lining up fast, getting to it and playing with pace is good. It shows off our conditioning, too,” Harris told reporters, according to video via Steelers.com. “It might put the defense on the edge, ’cause they might be outta plays, or they might be out there for a certain amount of plays. We go simple and start moving the ball, it kind of works out in our favors.”
It worked against the 49ers late in the first half as the Steelers marched 95 yards in 12 plays, capping the scoring drive with a 3-yard strike from quarterback Kenny Pickett to tight end Pat Freiermuth for a touchdown. The drive also featured an explosive 24-yard run from Harris, and also saw Pickett connect with wide receivers George Pickens and Diontae Johnson for 10 and 15 yards, creating some splash.
Yet, after the success of the up-tempo offense late in the first half, the Steelers never really went back to it until the game was nearly over.
That’s been an issue the last few years under head coach Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Matt Canada. Tomlin, early in the 2022 season, stated that an up-tempo attack is always part of Pittsburgh’s overall attack offensively. It’s just that it comes down to situational football as to why and when they use it.
Canada also said early last season that the Steelers could use more tempo after seeing success with it. They never really turned to an up-tempo attack after that though until they were in dire straits and needed the up-tempo attack to not only try and move the football, but battle the clock in close games, too.
Harris isn’t the first player to advocate for more tempo offensively in Pittsburgh, either. Pickett has called for more, as has center Mason Cole. Yet, it’s rarely used. Granted, it’s very taxing on an offense — and a team overall — to go up-tempo for the entire game. It gasses an offense, and when it doesn’t succeed it puts the defense back on the field.
But when it works, look out.
The Steelers saw that success on Sunday. They need more of it moving forward. Tempo cuts out some miscommunication issues and allows the players to just line up and go, as Harris said. That takes some of the overthinking out of things, too. It causes confusion for the defense, too, and that’s advantageous for the offense.
We’ll see if the Steelers use more tempo in Week Two against a good Cleveland defense, and not just situationally. Pickett thrives in up-tempo, and the offensive pieces seem to like it overall. Play to their strengths and desires more.
