Despite being outgained and having a negative point differential through eight games in the 2023 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers are 5-3, and if the season ended today, they’d be in the playoffs. NFL.com columnist Jeffri Chadiha wrote up some midseason awards, and he thinks Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has been the most impressive coach so far this season.
“The Steelers are 5-3 with an offense that is feeble at best. They’re the 34th team in NFL history to be outgained in each of their first eight games and the only member of that dubious group to produce a winning record after such an unimpressive stretch. How are they doing it? It’s simple: They have one of the best head coaches this league has ever seen. Nothing about the Steelers is threatening except for the way they prepare and somehow execute in critical moments. A lesser-coached team would be in the running for a top-five pick in next year’s draft. This group has a legitimate shot at a playoff spot because of the man leading them,” Chadiha writes.
Pittsburgh’s offense hasn’t been good at all this season. While OC Matt Canada has been better in recent weeks, the play calling early in the season wasn’t great, and QB Kenny Pickett has struggled throughout the season. While he’s had flashes, where he really stands out is his performance in the fourth quarter, as he’s continued to lead Pittsburgh to come-from-behind victories with the game on the line. But a lot of that is a credit to Tomlin for how he prepares his team. While they’re winning ugly, the Steelers continually makes winning plays when they absolutely have to.
Defensively, the Steelers have always been sound, and once again, they’re getting key sacks and forcing turnovers in crucial moments of the game. The Steelers had negative yards of offense in the fourth quarter in their Week Two win over the Cleveland Browns, but they still managed to win thanks to a defensive touchdown and a defense that didn’t allow Cleveland to get on the board. At this point, it’s who the Steelers are, and it’s become Tomlin’s style. It’s throwback, defense-oriented football that’s run counter to the high-flying offenses the NFL has seen in recent years.
But this year, offense has taken a step back, and defenses have begun to again rule the game. That’s a benefit to the Steelers, who have a coach who’s well-versed in playing that style and a defense with playmakers like T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward and Alex Highsmith. On the other side of the ball, feeble, the word Chadiha uses to describe Pittsburgh offense, is pretty accurate. But as long as Pickett can continue to shine in the fourth quarter in close games, the Steelers will have a fighting chance.
They need to begin to put it together for a full game offensively to have any real chance of meaningful postseason success, but the Steelers can get in the playoffs playing the way they are now, which is pretty ridiculous. One positive sign is that the run game looked like it was actually getting going in the Steelers’ Week Nine win over the Tennessee Titans, as RB Jaylen Warren ran for 88 yards on 11 carries while RB Najee Harris had 69 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Continuing to establish the run is going to make things easier for Pickett and the offense going forward.
This style of football is the way the Steelers have played pretty much since 2019. And even when offenses across the league were better, the Steelers were still able to win enough games to be competitive or sneak into the playoffs. Now, the game across the league is trending back in their favor, and no coach is better at winning ugly than Tomlin.
Given the fact Pittsburgh’s gotten blown out against the San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans, two games where the Steelers just didn’t look prepared, I’m not sure I agree that Tomlin’s coaching job has been the best in the league. But with the way this offense has been playing, having them at 5-3 is pretty impressive. Now, let’s see how it holds up over the second half of the season.
