One of the biggest shifts the Pittsburgh Steelers made in their first game without Matt Canada was an increase in 13 personnel, a grouping that contains one running back and three tight ends. Pittsburgh leaned on the depth they have at the position with Pat Freiermuth, Darnell Washington, and Connor Heyward, and wound up using it more than they had the entire season.
Consider Kenny Pickett a fan of the move. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Pickett discussed its usefulness.
“I like the versatility out of it,” Pickett said via the team’s YouTube channel. “I don’t think you’re run-heavy. The things we did off it were really good. I love having Connor and Pat in there. Getting Darnell a touch in the pass game was great out of our dropback stuff. So I think we’re pretty versatile in it. It keeps a defense honest.”
Over the Steelers’ first ten games, they used 13 personnel just seven times (excluding kneel-downs). Part of that can be blamed on the lengthy absence of Freiermuth, missing five games with a hamstring injury, but it still wasn’t part of the team’s plan for the 3.5 games he played before getting hurt. And even without him, TE Rodney Williams saw a respectable number of snaps and was involved in the offense’s game plan.
In Sunday’s win over the Bengals, Pittsburgh deployed 13 personnel a total of 11 times. And as Pickett noted, they didn’t just run out of these run-heavy personnel. Of the 11 snaps, four of them were passes. As one example, they opened up the second half with this screen to RB Jaylen Warren for 15.
As Pickett noted, he also hit Washington for a 10-yard completion out of 13 personnel, his first non-boot action reception of the season. Of the seven plays they ran the ball, Pittsburgh averaged 7.5 yards per carry with an 85.7 percent run success rate, six of their seven attempts successful. All seven gained at least three yards.
Overall, the Steelers averaged a crisp 7.2 yards per play. Given its success, it’s a package Pittsburgh figures to lean on going forward.
The increased use was something we noted in our Tuesday video detailing four tweaks the Steelers’ offense made in their win over the Bengals. In addition to this surge of 13 personnel, the offense did a better job layering their motion. They had truer passing concepts (especially on third downs), and of course, utilized the middle of the field more than they have all season. If you missed it, you can watch the video below.
