The Pittsburgh Steelers look to be in a good position to make the postseason, as they’re 7-4 with games against the lowly Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots over the next two weeks. On CW’s Inside The NFL on Tuesday night, the discussion of Pittsburgh’s playoff hopes came up. Former NFL linebacker Channing Crowder said the Steelers can make the playoffs but that he doesn’t think they’d make any noise in the postseason once they get there.
“Because of the fact of their offense and the limitations they have,” Crowder said on the show. “It’s what the Steelers are based around…I don’t think this offense is good enough to compete.”
The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2016, and right now, that lack of success is the biggest failure of Mike Tomlin’s tenure. Pittsburgh needs to be consistently winning in the postseason, but that hasn’t happened. The fact that the franchise’s all-time sack leader in T.J. Watt still doesn’t have a playoff win is an issue. So one way or another, the Steelers are going to have to start winning in the playoffs.
The offense has been bad for most of the season, but the Steelers made a change at offensive coordinator, letting go of Matt Canada last week. The first week under new play caller Mike Sullivan and offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner produced 421 total yards of offense and the best game of the season for QB Kenny Pickett. That’s the type of performance the Steelers will need going forward.
If the Steelers can move the ball and push the ball vertically while running the ball like they did against the Bengals, I’m not sure that the offense will continue to be a major problem. Given the first 11 weeks of tape they put out there, I can see why analysts like Crowder and people in general don’t see the Steelers as a threat. They have a talented defense, but that doesn’t matter if they can’t put points on the board.
That’s the biggest area of improvement going forward. While the offense moved the ball well against Cincinnati, the Steelers only managed 16 points. That’s not going to get it done, and if the Steelers are going to be a threat and make noise in the playoffs, they’re going to need to score more points.
But if the offensive improvements from Week 12 can continue and the offense can grow over the rest of the season, this is a team that could maybe find itself as winners of a playoff game or two. Frankly, with how much talent is on the roster, it would be a disappointment if the Steelers didn’t win at least one playoff game, and we’ll see if they can get it done if they reach the postseason.
