We are at approximately the midway point of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season. Let’s revisit our weekly offensive charting and pull out the numbers for the season. Going through the first eight games and sharing any numbers that stand out or might seem interesting.
Through eight games the offense has been on the field for 499 plays. That is 46 plays less than 2022 through the same eight-game period. That includes kneel downs (14) and plays negated by penalty (six).
There have been 187 running plays and 306 passing plays that include all attempts, sacks, scrambles, and spikes. In 2021, there were 175 running plays and 357 passing plays.
Personnel Groupings
In Year Three with Matt Canada calling the offense his personnel groupings have stayed fairly consistent.
| Personnel | 2021 | % of Plays | 2022 | % of Plays | 2023 | % of Plays | 2022 vs 2023 |
| 02 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 4 | 0.8% | 0.8% |
| 10 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 1 | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| 11 | 403 | 72.4% | 429 | 78.7% | 376 | 75.5% | -3.2% |
| 12 | 103 | 18.5% | 85 | 15.6% | 89 | 17.9% | 2.3% |
| 13 | 10 | 1.8% | 6 | 1.1% | 11 | 2.2% | 1.1% |
| 20 | 10 | 1.8% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 21 | 11 | 2.0% | 12 | 2.2% | 4 | 0.8% | -1.4% |
| 22 | 12 | 2.2% | 7 | 1.3% | 0 | 0.0% | -1.3% |
| 23 | 2 | 0.4% | 2 | 0.4% | 3 | 0.6% | 0.2% |
| Fake Punt | 0 | 0.0% | 1 | 0.2% | 0 | 0.0% | -0.2% |
| V32 | 6 | 1.1% | 3 | 0.6% | 10 | 2.0% | 1.5% |
Canada has used less 12 personnel compared to Year One, but it is the highest percentage increase in 2023 from last year. On the way down is 11, 21 and 22 personnel. New additions this year include 02 personnel (two tight ends and three wide receivers) and 10 personnel (1 running back and 4 receivers), which he used for the first time in Week Nine versus Tennessee. Nice to see the victory formation up to 10 snaps already this year.
Quarterbacks
Kenny Pickett in Year Two looks a lot like Year One. He’s an average quarterback through three quarters and plays much better in the fourth quarter.
2022 – Five passing touchdowns, 10 interceptions
2023 – Seven passing touchdowns, six interceptions
A little better overall but not where you hope those touchdown numbers would be.
- Play-action plays in 2021 – 68 and 2022 – 63. In 2023, there have been 42 plays. This season the Steelers are 26-for-39 for 285 yards and two touchdowns. Pickett has also scrambled twice for seven yards and been sacked once.
- Facing a blitz in 2021 – 58 and in 2022 — 66. This season it stays consistent at 63. The Steelers are 30-of-59 for 447 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. There have been four sacks for minus-36 yards.
- No huddle in 2021 – 57 and 90 in 2022. This is way down at 36. The results include eight carries for 22 yards running the ball. Throwing the ball, they were 18 -of-22 for 154 and one interception. There was one spike, one scramble for 5 yards and three sacks for -28 yards.
- Pre-snap movement of any kind in 2021 – 218 and 230 in 2022. Movement continues to rise to 269.
- Man in motion at the snap in 2021 – 83. In 2022, a little less at 74. This season it’s up to 105. They ran the ball 65% of the time with a man in motion.
- They have used an empty formation 19 times. They were 9-of 19 for 63 yards.
Where Do They Throw It?
Here is a look the dispersal of Kenny Pickett drop backs over the last two seasons.
| Row Labels | 2022 | % in 2022 | 2023 | % in 2023 | % Change |
| Outside Left Numbers | 58 | 27.6% | 77 | 28.8% | 1.2% |
| Left Numbers to Left Hash | 28 | 13.3% | 34 | 12.7% | -0.6% |
| Between Hashes | 11 | 5.2% | 16 | 6.0% | 0.8% |
| Right Hash to Right Numbers | 36 | 17.1% | 38 | 14.2% | -2.9% |
| Outside Right Numbers | 46 | 21.9% | 77 | 28.8% | 6.9% |
| Scrambles | 18 | 8.6% | 7 | 2.6% | -5.9% |
| Spike | 1 | 0.5% | 1 | 0.4% | -0.1% |
| Sacks | 12 | 5.7% | 17 | 6.4% | 0.7% |
The big increase is outside the numbers to the right with nearly a seven percent increase. Scrambles are down nearly six percent showing Pickett has his eyes up and is looking to throw when he gets outside the pocket rather than take off downfield.
Last year Pickett was at 49.5 percent of his total throws outside the numbers. In 2023, that number is 57.7 percent.
Now here is a look where Pickett throws it based on depth.
| Direction | 2022 | % in 2022 | 2023 | % of 2023 | % change |
| Deep Left | 15 | 8.4% | 13 | 5.4% | -3.0% |
| Deep Middle | 5 | 2.8% | 12 | 5.0% | 2.2% |
| Deep Right | 6 | 3.4% | 15 | 6.2% | 2.9% |
| Short Left | 64 | 35.8% | 89 | 36.9% | 1.2% |
| Short Middle | 24 | 13.4% | 27 | 11.2% | -2.2% |
| Short Right | 65 | 36.3% | 85 | 35.3% | -1.0% |
A deep pass is anything thrown at least 16 yards downfield.
Deep throws overall are down just two percent with Pickett being more balanced between the left and right sides of the field.
Running Backs
At this point last season, a retooled offensive line did not help the running game. They were much better in the second half of the season. The Steelers continued to tweak the line and they’ve looked better in the first eight compared to last season.
With the running backs we have a much closer split in touches than last year. In 2022, it was 132 for Najee Harris and 42 for Jaylen Warren. That gap has closed to 30 (115 to 85).
Harris is not the workhorse he was in 2021 but his yards per touch (4.2) is closer to his rookie season (4.37) after a significant dip last season (3.58).
HARRIS
| Year | Atts | Yds | Y/A | TD | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD |
| 2021 | 150 | 541 | 3.61 | 4 | 52 | 40 | 289 | 7.23 | 2 |
| 2022 | 108 | 361 | 3.34 | 1 | 28 | 24 | 112 | 4.67 | 2 |
| 2023 | 100 | 382 | 3.82 | 2 | 21 | 15 | 101 | 6.7 | 0 |
Warren got a taste last year and is getting a full serving this season. His yards per touch is about the same at 5.74 yards last year to 5.55 this year.
WARREN
| Year | Att | Yds | Y/A | TD | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD |
| 2022 | 29 | 153 | 5.28 | 0 | 14 | 12 | 88 | 7.33 | 0 |
| 2023 | 56 | 263 | 4.7 | 1 | 35 | 29 | 209 | 7.21 | 0 |
Rushing-success rate is based on percentage of yards gained per down. It is 40 percent on first down, 60 percent on second down and 100 percent on third down and fourth down. Currently, Harris is at a 44-percent success rate and Warren is at 48.2 percent.
The receiving success rate is based on the same percentages with Harris at 42.9 and Warren at 48.6.
Here is a look at yards gained by the direction they run.
| DIRECTION | Count | Sum of YDS | Yards/Carry | Count | Sum of YDS | Yards/Carry |
| Left End | 4 | 28 | 7.00 | 5 | 31 | 6.20 |
| Left Tackle | 15 | 61 | 4.07 | 11 | 73 | 6.64 |
| Left Guard | 23 | 68 | 2.96 | 8 | 28 | 3.50 |
| Middle | 32 | 128 | 4.00 | 15 | 56 | 3.73 |
| Right Guard | 11 | 40 | 3.64 | 7 | 21 | 3.00 |
| Right Tackle | 14 | 53 | 3.79 | 7 | 38 | 5.43 |
| Right End | 3 | 4 | 1.33 | 3 | 16 | 5.33 |
| Grand Total | 102 | 382 | 3.75 | 56 | 263 | 4.70 |
Over the left side is the most successful run angle. Warren has had his most success toward the outside, averaging over six yards per carry running over the tackle or end.
Wide Receivers
Diontae Johnson and George Pickens are turning into an impressive tandem.
Johnson has missed about four games, cutting his targets and receptions essentially in half. One positive is his catch percentage. It is up in 2023 to 65.7 percent and improvement from 56.6 percent in 2022. He also finally caught his first touchdown pass from Kenny Pickett last Thursday night.
Pickens has been allowed to use more of the route tree this year and his numbers are on the rise. Through eight games last year he had 43 targets, 26 receptions for 338 yards and one touchdown. In 2023, he has 15 more targets, four more receptions and 183 more yards and two more touchdowns.
In 2022, Pickens had a total of 104 yards after the catch for the entire season. He has 184 yards right now.
Here is a look at where the duo is targeted and the yards gained.
| Johnson | Pickens | |||
| DIRECTION | Count of DIR | Sum of YDS | Count of DIR | Sum of YDS |
| Deep Left | 4 | 16 | 7 | 85 |
| Deep Middle | 2 | 0 | 3 | 127 |
| Deep Right | 5 | 51 | 9 | 85 |
| Short Left | 12 | 121 | 21 | 143 |
| Short Middle | 5 | 29 | 7 | 33 |
| Short Right | 10 | 95 | 13 | 48 |
| Grand Total | 38 | 312 | 60 | 521 |
Pickens leads the wide receivers in targets, receptions, yards, yards per reception, touchdowns, first downs and yards per target.
Not a lot was expected of Allen Robinson II, but he has been solid as the No. 3 wide receiver. He’s third on the team with 19 receptions and five first downs.
The offense is still trying to properly utilize Calvin Austin III, and with just 21 touches there is a lot of room for improvement. He does have the Steelers’ longest reception this season at 72 yards and is averaging 11.6 per catch largely because of that long touchdown.
| Robinson | Austin | |||
| DIRECTION | Count of DIR | Sum of YDS | Count of DIR | Sum of YDS |
| Deep Left | 1 | 31 | 3 | 0 |
| Deep Middle | 4 | 72 | ||
| Deep Right | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Short Left | 10 | 41 | 11 | 28 |
| Short Middle | 6 | 22 | 1 | -1 |
| Short Right | 12 | 60 | 8 | 63 |
| Grand Total | 31 | 154 | 28 | 162 |
Eight deep targets for Austin with just one completion.
Miles Boykin excels on special teams, but he has matched his offensive output from last season with two receptions and 11 yards.
Tight Ends
With Pat Freiermuth dealing with injuries in the first half of the season the tight end position has been underutilized. The entire group has combined for 41 targets and 24 receptions. A total of 175 yards gained and two touchdowns, both by Freiermuth.
At this stage last year, Freiermuth alone had 48 targets and 32 receptions. Get healthy soon, Pat.
Connor Heyward has been trying to fill the void and leads the group in targets (22), receptions (14) and yards (105).
Rookie Darnell Washington is considered more of a blocking tight end, but he has ability to do more. Just two catches, both first downs, at this point and severely neglected in the offense.
Offensive Line
With several new members on the offensive line, there are still growing pains as the Steelers find the right combination. In 2022, three offensive linemen — Kevin Dotson, Chukwuma Okorafor, and James Daniels — had played every snap through the first eight games.
| Player | LT | LG | OC | RG | RT | Other |
| Mason Cole | 498 | |||||
| Dan Moore | 375 | 4 | 1 | |||
| Nate Herbig | 125 | |||||
| Isaac Seumalo | 498 | |||||
| Spencer Anderson | 1 | |||||
| Chukwuma Okorafor | 429 | 1 | ||||
| Broderick Jones | 122 | 65 | 4 | |||
| James Daniels | 373 |
Cole and Seumalo have been stalwarts. Dylan Cook has yet to play a snap.
Let’s look at the penalties. Last year at this time the offensive line had 15 in total.
- Moore has zero penalties so far.
- Seumalo has two. A false start in Week One and the mystery offside on a field goal in Week Eight.
- Daniels had one false start versus Tennessee.
- Okorafor has seven: four holding penalties, two false starts, and an illegal formation. Just four of those were accepted.
- In 2022 and 2023, Cole has not been called for a penalty in the first eight games.
- Jones has two. An ineligible downfield and an unsportsmanlike conduct. Both versus Tennessee.
- Herbig had zero penalties in his appearances.
