With all the warts that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense has thus far, how about some positivity and optimism to kick off your Thursday morning?
According to Pro Football Focus, the Steelers as a team have only dropped three passes through the first five weeks of the season, tied for the second-least in the NFL.
The Steelers have completed 98 passes through five weeks, giving the team just under a 3% drop rate. We saw just last Sunday how imperative it can be to secure passes. The Baltimore Ravens figuratively (and quite literally) dropped the ball at putting the nail in the coffin against their division rivals, dropping seven passes. Several of those likely would have gone for touchdowns as QB Lamar Jackson connected with the intended target on the play.
The Ravens more than doubled Pittsburgh’s total drops on the season in a single game, proving to be a key variable in Pittsburgh’s comeback victory. WR George Pickens has proven to be a sure-handed pass catcher since entering the league last year, possessing vice grips for hands as he snags passes in contested coverage, making the most difficult grabs look routine. The Steelers have been without WR Diontae Johnson since Week One, the fifth-year veteran getting placed on IR with a hamstring injury. Johnson has been known for having a bad case of the drops, but he should return after the team’s bye week, allowing us to see if he can continue to improve his consistency when it comes to securing the catch.
With other sure-handed receivers with Allen Robinson II, Pat Freiermuth, and Connor Heyward as options in the passing game as well, Pittsburgh has a plethora of weapons that are known for having good hands. They will have to keep up that performance throughout the season as the offense must maximize every opportunity it gets at a completion given the difficulties this team has had moving the football.
Hopefully with the bye week upon us, with Johnson and Freiermuth set to come back healthy and the players and coaching staff having time to work through things schematically, this offense can improve its efficiency moving forward as Pittsburgh tries to get on a run in the second half of the year.
