With the Pittsburgh Steelers moving on from offensive coordinator Matt Canada, there were still questions about how the offense would look under new play caller Mike Sullivan. While one game isn’t a complete sample size, it certainly looked a lot better as the Steelers put up 421 yards of total offense. One area in particular they were better was on third downs as the team was 8-of-17 for the game and through the air, it went 10-of-14. Quarterback Kenny Pickett said in his postgame press conference that it was an area the Steelers focused on at halftime and they stepped up in the second half.
“That was kind of something we talked about at halftime. I don’t think we were great at it in the first half, I thought we really stepped up in the second half. Coach Sully was seeing it really well and what they were calling, putting us in some really good positions to be successful, and then we went out there and executed. So that’s kind of how it’s gotta go and how it has to be,” Pickett said via the team’s YouTube channel.
Mike Tomlin has preached the importance of weighty downs all year, and there’s no doubt that Pickett and the Steelers offense were good in that area today. Pickett was 10-of-14 on third downs with completions of 43 yards, 39 yards and 29 yards. In the second half, Pickett was better, going 6-of-7 after being 4-of-7 passing on third down in the first half.
It was the best the Steelers’ offense has looked all season, with the team not even having a single three-and-out. For Pickett, his 278-yard performance is something to build off, and it seems as if the partnership with him and Sullivan is paying off. He showed he wasn’t afraid to take shots downfield, and he and Pat Freiermuth built a nice connection with Freiermuth having a career-high 120 yards on nine receptions.
If the Pittsburgh offense can continue to play the way it did today, this is a team that will be able to become a contender. All season, the offense has been the problem, but with the unit playing well on third downs today and consistently moving the ball, it’s an offense that looks like one that can compete in the AFC.
We’ll see if Pittsburgh’s third-down success, particularly in the second half, can carry over against the Arizona Cardinals next week. At 7-4, the Steelers realistically should be 9-4 with Arizona coming to Acrisure Stadium next week followed by a Thursday Night Football matchup with the New England Patriots, who lost to the Tommy Devito-led New York Giants today.
