The news came quickly and was a bit of a surprise last Tuesday when the Pittsburgh Steelers fired offensive coordinator Matt Canada after an abysmal performance on the road in Week 11 against the Cleveland Browns.
Though the move was necessary, it was still surprising and left some of the players reeling.
But then, on Sunday on the road in Cincinnati, the Steelers’ offense had its best performance of the season, dominating the time of possession, cracking the 400-yard mark for the first time in 58 games, and really taking it to the Bengals in a 16-10 win that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated.
The offense answered the bell, meeting the challenge of playing under new co-offensive coordinators in Eddie Faulkner and Mike Sullivan.
“I think we all looked at each other and knew. We got to play for each other,” center Mason Cole stated to reporters after the game, according to a tweet via 93.7 The Fan. “We all had a hand in Matt’s firing. We didn’t play well enough for him to keep his job. We had to make it right with the guys in this room.”
Putting up 421 yards of offense and possessing the ball for more than 37 minutes is certainly a step in the right direction.
Cole’s comments echoed what he stated earlier in the week regarding his reaction to Canada’s firing. He had said that the offense as a whole didn’t play well enough for Canada, and that it was on the offense to step up and do everything it took to get a win in Cincinnati.
The offense did just that.
Pittsburgh attacked downfield in the passing game, utilizing in the middle of the field in key spots as well, unlocking tight end Pat Freiermuth. The third-year veteran had nine receptions for 120 yards in the win, including receptions of 29 and 24 yards up the seam.
The Steelers had a consistent run game, too, racking up 153 yards and a touchdown on 35 carries in the win with Najee Harris having his best game of the season, generating 99 rushing yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. He eclipsed the 100-yard mark on his 14th carry but then lost a yard on his final tote, causing him to miss the century mark by a single yard.
Now that the Steelers have some confidence offensively coming out of the win over Cincinnati, they have to continue to build off it with a favorable stretch coming up with matchups against the Arizona Cardinals, New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts in the next three weeks.
