A Pittsburgh Steelers offense that looked like a juggernaut during the preseason came out flat today against the San Francisco 49ers, looking more like the unit that took the field to start last season than the one that was putting up touchdowns a couple weeks ago. QB Kenny Pickett looked lost for most of the afternoon, missing open receivers while putting the ball in harm’s way several times, resulting in two interceptions on the day.
WR Allen Robinson II spoke about the offense’s shortcoming after the 30-7 loss, stating a need to execute better from the first play from scrimmage and not take a few drives to get going now that the games count.
“We started to get some explosives right before the halftime to be able to move the ball and kind of get a little bit of momentum,” Robinson told reporters via video from Steelers.com. “But, you know, for us that has to start much earlier. You know, we have to be in attack mode. We have to make sure that we’re on our P’s and Q’s, you know, and getting the ball rolling early.”
Pittsburgh started fast offensively in the preseason, scoring five touchdowns on five possessions with the first-team offense in its three games. However, that was not the case Sunday as Pittsburgh had nine yards of total offense in the first half prior to its 12-play, 95-yard drive at the end of the half to finally put points on the board.
As an offense, you must be able to come out and establish ball movement from the first snap. That’s what got Pittsburgh behind the eight-ball last year. They would start slow, failing to move the ball in the first half, which would allow teams to get out in front, thus forcing the Steelers to have to play catch up.
However, the Steelers have shown they can start fast this year, scoring quickly on the ground as well as through the air against the Buccaneers, Bills, and Falcons during preseason play. Granted, a lot of that was done against backup players, but Pittsburgh did have two convincing scoring drives against a Bills defense that had most of its first stringers in the game. Ultimately, it comes down to executing more effectively than they did today, much like RB Najee Harris and QB Kenny Pickett have pointed out. This offense may not be the juggernaut that we thought they maybe could be based off five preseason drives, but they can easily rebound and come out with a strong performance against the Cleveland Browns next Monday night.
