The Pittsburgh Steelers are in a similar but better place exiting their bye week compared to a year ago. In 2022, they were 2-6, one of the worst-looking teams in football, and their season felt like it was over. This year, they’re 3-2, were in first place heading into their bye (now bumped to second by the Baltimore Ravens) and aren’t in contention for a top-five pick.
Still, it’s a team that feels under duress. Especially on offense. A year ago, they held a team meeting to have a heart-to-heart and hit the reset button. It worked and the offense found traction the rest of the way, going 7-2 and nearly storming the castle that was the AFC playoffs. This year, the team held a similar-sounding meeting. Will they generate the same results?
The bye week was good for one thing. Health. The Steelers are getting back many of the players who missed Week Five’s win over the Baltimore Ravens and previous games. WR Diontae Johnson and RB Anthony McFarland Jr. practiced Monday, opening their 21-day window to return. Johnson is expected to play against the Rams and McFarland could join him. TE Pat Freiermuth said he’s good to go from his hamstring injury while OT Dan Moore Jr. sounds like he’ll dress (though starting is a bigger debate and more uncertain question). RG James Daniels could also work back while DL DeMarvin Leal is out of concussion protocol and will play on Sunday.
All positive signs for the offense, especially Johnson and Freiermuth’s return to boost an offense that needs as many skill guys as possible. That alone is going to help. Johnson is the team’s most well-rounded receiver and best separator and will hopefully produce some “easy” yards in the quick game, something missing with stale concepts, inconsistent blocking, and an absent running game.
But just because they had success last year doesn’t mean it’ll be replicated this year. If that is going to happen, the offensive line will have to block better. Much better. Get movement on the first level, stop leaving linebackers running free, and running backs have to be able to win in the second and third levels to turn good runs into great ones. That was the key to the turnaround last year. The run game allowed Pittsburgh to sustain drives and become the league’s best third-down offense after the bye, chewing up long possessions that wore defenses down and kept opposing offenses off the field, keeping the score down. Of course, the defense was excellent and made big plays, aided by T.J. Watt’s return, but the offense found an identity and did its job.
That’ll be the mission again. It’s extra frustrating because the goal and thought was the Steelers could pick up where they left off last year, not from a “momentum” standpoint that doesn’t exist year-to-year but the continuity and getting past their growing pains as a young and newly-fashioned unit. Clearly, those things haven’t happened.
Right now, the Steelers are hanging on. They’re winning, they’re getting the job done but it’s messy and doesn’t feel sustainable. It’s a place you can exist in for a few weeks, and burrow your way through a tough part of the season, but a method that’s hard to keep up over a long and grueling season. If Pittsburgh truly wants to become a playoff contender, they need to tighten up and become a team with a plan and winning identity, just as they looked post-bye a year ago.
