In order to win games, the offense must be able to move the ball down the field on the ground and through the air to get into the end zone and put points on the board in attempt to outscore the other team.
Seems pretty simple, right? The more yards you get, the better the chance you score more points and win more football games.
However, that logic apparently doesn’t apply to the Pittsburgh Steelers whose offense has struggled mightily to start the 2023 campaign, ranking second-last in the league in total yards and 27th in the league in total points scored. According to a graphic from NFL on CBS’ Instagram page, the Steelers are just one of two teams that have been outgained in total yardage in every game this season, joining the Arizona Cardinals in this category. However, despite being outgained by 660 yards through six games, the Steelers currently sit at a 4-2 record while the Cardinals sit at a 1-6 record being outgained by 339 yards.
That’s quite a telling stat as one team looks primed to pick first overall in the 2024 NFL Draft and the other is considered a potential playoff team. Steelers Depot’s very own Matthew Marczi wrote about Pittsburgh’s winning record despite their -24 point differential, stating that it’s a statistical outlier for a team with that negative of a point differential to make the playoffs.
The Steelers have been playing with fire the first six weeks of the season, getting off to slow starts in nearly every contest, leading to blowouts against the 49ers and Texans and one-score victories against the Browns, Raiders, Ravens, and Rams. They’ve managed to catch lightning in a bottle a couple of times with splash plays from OLB T.J. Watt and the defense in key moments of the game while also having QB Kenny Pickett getting going in the fourth quarter, jump-starting an offense that had been stagnant for the first three quarters of play to move the ball and get in the end zone for the go-ahead score late in games.
The formula of winning close and winning ugly has been working thus far for Pittsburgh, but that can be hard to sustain for an entire 17-game schedule. They need to start scoring more points at the beginning of games, having their offense get off to a fast start instead of relying on their defense to keep things close until they can start to get going. The powerhouse teams of the AFC aren’t going to wait for Pittsburgh’s offense to warm up to the game as they can and will put points up in bunches as we have seen in recent seasons. Pittsburgh should consider themselves fortunate to be sitting with the record that they do, and need to get this sporadic offense turned around.
