The Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense didn’t exactly inspire confidence in the fan base last Sunday as it looked like a version of the unit that started the 2022 season rather than the one that was lighting up this preseason. QB Kenny Pickett notably struggled in a 30-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, throwing just one TD pass to two INTs as he had issues with accuracy and decision making throughout the contest. Mike Greenberg asked Dan Orlovsky on ESPN’s Get Up Thursday morning what Pickett needs to change to have a better performance this coming week. Orlovsky first response was nothing about Pickett but rather the guy behind the play-call sheet.
“His offensive coordinator,” Orlovsky said on Get Up. “No, no joking. They ran the same play pass play-wise eight times. So, there’s gotta be more variety in the pass game. For Kenny specifically, he’s going to have to see the field a little bit cleaner. I did not like the way he saw the field. Number two, when the throws are there, because there were some, you cannot miss it. You gotta lean into and make those throws when the defense presents it to him.”
Canada frequently called shallow cross against the 49ers, a concept that yielded pitiful results. Ted Nguyen of The Athletic named Canada’s constant desire to run the shallow cross as one of the worst coaching decisions of the week. Pittsburgh ran two different variations of shallow cross eight times on Sunday, with Pickett going 1-of-4 with an interception, a near-interception, and two sacks. Facing two of the better coverage linebackers in the game in Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw, the play concept didn’t make much sense. Canada’s inability to come up with something different showed stubbornness and a lack of adjusting on the fly.
As for Pickett, he forced passes he had no right to be throwing, putting balls in tight coverage over the middle of the field like on his second interception that Warner tipped in the air into the hands of S Talanoa Hufanga. He also missed several receivers when the throw was there, throwing behind them or sailing the ball over their head.
It was a tough day at the office for the entire offense, but Canada and Pickett are the ones who are going to shoulder a lot of the criticism. It’s only fair as the offensive coordinator and quarterback are the two most integral parts of the offense and often dictate how the rest of the show goes. We will need to see both Canada and Pickett execute better this coming Monday night against a Browns squad that nearly shut out the Cincinnati Bengals last Sunday, having a daunting pass rush that will look to get after Pickett early and often.
