When it came to improvements the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense needed to make, creating YAC was high on that list. Scoring more points, of course, was the top priority, but that only happens if you do everything leading up to putting the ball in the end zone. A year ago, no team was as pitiful after the catch as the Steelers, ranking dead last in YAC per reception.
Things aren’t any better after Week One. Not only did Pittsburgh average just 3.5 YAC per reception against the San Francisco 49ers, they seldom used slant routes to even create those opportunities.
According to our friends at Sports Information Solutions, who do the heavy lifting of tracking route concepts, the Steelers used only three slant routes on their 52 drop backs Sunday. WRs Diontae Johnson and Allen Robinson II each ran one while TE Darnell Washington ran the other.
The sad part is one of them should’ve put the ball in the end zone. As we’ve noted several times already, Kenny Pickett missed an open Johnson for what should’ve been an easy score on this slant route, throwing behind and incomplete.
Pittsburgh’s YAC number for Week One wasn’t the NFL’s worst but it was close. It ranked 27th overall, including ahead of the San Francisco 49ers, but they did their damage deeper downfield against the Steelers’ soft zone coverage. The Steelers lacked those downfield throws, Pickett just 1-of-7 on air yard attempts 15 or more yards downfield, as the 49ers kept a lid on things and forced the Steelers to throw short.
Throughout the game, Pittsburgh mostly ran curl routes and a handful of crossers that technically weren’t slant. Routes were largely independent and had players settle down against zone coverage, an overall boring game plan coupled with ugly execution.
Last year, Johnson wasn’t used on nearly enough slants, and it was one reason for his poor performance. Now, Johnson is out potentially a month with a hamstring injury, meaning Pittsburgh may lose incentive to add more slants to its route tree.
Pittsburgh will have a tough time Monday night against the Browns. Cleveland played tight man coverage against the Cincinnati Bengals last Sunday, holding star WR Ja’Marr Chase to five receptions for 39 yards while WR Tee Higgins was targeted an incredible eight times without catching a single pass.
