When an offense scores just seven points and puts up less than 300 yards in today’s NFL, something needs fixed — and quickly.
Coming out of Sunday’s 30-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, the Pittsburgh Steelers don’t believe they need to fix anything schematically. Instead, they believe that they just need to execute better — on both sides of the football.
Second-year receiver Calvin Austin III believes that’s the case, telling reporters Wednesday from inside the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex that the offense just needs to stay out of its own way and execute better.
“It’s not about fixing anything. When we watched the game, we did a lot of things where we stepped in our own path,” Austin told reporters, according to video via 93.7 The Fan’s Jeff Hathhorn on Twitter. “We messed ourselves up. So, it’s just about every person continuing being on their assignment and details. We kind of got in our own way and couldn’t get out of our own way. If we stay out of our own way and execute, I think it will be a much different game.”
That might sound a bit preposterous, but it’s not all that far from the truth when it comes to the offense in the 23-point loss to San Francisco. Second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett missed a number of throws, which really bogged down Pittsburgh attack. There were a few drops as well.
The run game never got going, nor was it given a chance to get into rhythm. The offensive line overall struggled to hold up in protection of Pickett, leading to five sacks on the afternoon.
As Steelers Depot’s own Alex Kozora pointed out in a great film room Wednesday morning, the Steelers’ offense had a ton of unforced errors, both in the passing game and in the running game.
Not getting a hat on a linebacker on outside zone and split-zone runs for Najee Harris. Failing to connect on passes that should have been walk-in touchdowns and one that would have moved the chains. Forcing a throw into double coverage instead of ripping a throw middle of the field to a wide-open receiver working across the formation.
While San Francisco’s defense is a great one, the Steelers didn’t do themselves any favors whatsoever from a scheme or execution standpoint. As Austin stated, they got in their own way against a great defense and never found a way to get out of their own way, making it all the more difficult to produce anything positive offensively in a lopsided loss.
It won’t get any easier in Week Two against a tough Cleveland Browns defense. But chances are, the Steelers won’t get in their own way again, at least not as badly as they did in Week One.
