In the first eight weeks of the season (seven games), the offense of the Pittsburgh Steelers has — to put it nicely — largely struggled.
Pittsburgh ranks 30th in yards per game offensively (271.7), 25th in passing yards per game (192.0), 28th in rushing yards per game (79.7), and 29th in points per game (16.1), according to ESPN’s NFL offense total stats.
Entering the 2023 season there was a lot of high hopes and expectations for the Steelers’ offense. Second-year QB Kenny Pickett was back for another season in the Black and Gold and comfortable in the system under offensive coordinator Matt Canada. Running backs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren had played quite well down the stretch in 2022 and really found an identity offensively, and the offensive line got a major upgrade with the signing of left guard Isaac Seumalo in free agency and the selection of offensive tackle Broderick Jones in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
The first seven games of the season though show that things have gotten worse for the Steelers’ offense, which has CBS Sports’ Jeff Kerr quite concerned.
In a piece for CBSSports.com Monday highlighting the one thing learned from each team coming out of Week Eight, Kerr stated that the Steelers’ offense is going the wrong way.
“Seven games in and the Steelers’ offense somehow got worse. The offensive points per game are down from 14.3 to 13.9 and the yards are down from 298.6 to 271.7,” Kerr writes. “Mitchell Trubisky showed he isn’t any better at quarterback than Kenny Pickett is and the run game was even worse than usual in Sunday’s loss, as Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris combined for 12 carries for 32 yards — 2.7 yards per carry.
“The Steelers have to make some changes on this unit soon, even though they are over. 500.”
Coming out of Week Eight, the Steelers sit at 4-3 after the 20-10 home loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars and somehow remain in the playoff picture overall. That’s not really due to the offense, though. Outside of a decent performance in Week Three on the road against the Las Vegas Raiders and a strong fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Rams, the offense hasn’t done much of anything right.
As Kerr points out, the yards per game are down by more than 20 yards, and the offensive points per game are down nearly half a point.
Pickett has largely struggled in Year Two, as has the offensive line that was rebuilt in front of him. They’re allowing far too much pressure and too many sacks, and the offense hasn’t been able to consistently establish a running game, making the offense one-dimensional.
There are plenty of reasons to be frustrated with the coaching on the offensive side of the football, particularly third-year offensive coordinator Matt Canada. But those frustrations should extend to second-year offensive line coach Pat Meyer, running backs coach Eddie Faulkner and even quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan.
Key players under those three coaches — not to mention head coach Mike Tomlin — have all regressed. That’s an indictment of the coaching. The scheme largely stinks, there’s no rhyme or reason to play calls on a consistent basis, and the players aren’t executing when plays are there to be made.
It’s all a dumpster fire, and as Kerr correctly pointed out, the offense has gotten worse.
It won’t get any easier moving forward. The Steelers might be 4-3 right now and in the playoff picture, but leaning so heavily on a defense now missing two key pieces in Cameron Heyward and Minkah Fitzpatrick isn’t a recipe for success over the course of a season.
