If you had to describe the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense last season, explosive likely wouldn’t have been the word.
The Steelers ranked near the bottom of the league last season in total explosive plays, having their longest play from scrimmage come on George Pickens’ 31-yard TD reception in the regular season finale against the Cleveland Browns. So far this season, Pittsburgh’s offense has struggled to be consistent in sustaining drives, but they have flashed more in the splash play department, having two 70+ yard touchdowns in back-to-back weeks.
Former Steelers RB Le’Veon Bell joined DL Cameron Heyward on his podcast “Not Just Football With Cam Heyward” and was asked about the current state of Pittsburgh’s offense. Bell was honest in comparing it to the Steelers’ offenses he was a part of but acknowledged that there are a lot of interesting pieces there for this unit to become a quality offense in the league.
“I think we got talent, a lot of young talent,” Bell said on Not Just Football With Cam Heyward which aired on the show’s YouTube channel. “Offensively speaking, we’re not as explosive obviously as we were 6-7 years ago, but the talent is there. Like Pickens on the outside is a special player. [Calvin Austin III] is super fast. Bro, he’s unbelievably fast. Then obviously [Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren], both of the backs. I like both of the backs.”
Bell didn’t even mention the likes of WR Diontae Johnson who is currently out with a hamstring injury, as well as TE Pat Freiermuth who has become an integral part of the passing game in Pittsburgh the last few seasons. Add those guys to the group of WRs George Pickens and Calvin Austin III as well as RBs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, the talent is there for this offense to be explosive in 2023 and beyond.
However, experience and consistency are needed for this offense to take that next step from being an average offense to becoming a dynamic offense. We have seen signs of what Pittsburgh’s skill position players can do in recent weeks with Pickens catching a 71-yard TD in Week Two against the Cleveland Browns and Austin catching a 72-yard TD this past Sunday night against the Las Vegas Raiders. However, the offense has struggled to maintain that explosiveness throughout a game, something that The Killer B’s hardly struggled with. The combination of QB Ben Roethlisberger, RB Le’Veon Bell, and WRs Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant would put yards and points on opposing defenses with relative ease during their time playing together.
As Bell pointed out, the talent is there for this offense to become something special, especially the young talent with guys like Pickett, Pickens, and Austin all in just their second seasons. However, they must continue to work to mesh together and get on the same page. It would make the Steelers more dangerous having that explosive play ability expand from just one splash play a game to consistently making explosive plays in the passing game as well as breaking open long runs. Fans are waiting for this offense to take that next step as a promising group with potential as a unit that should be respected across the league.
