The Pittsburgh Steelers moved to 6-3 with a 23-19 win over the Green Bay Packers today, but the team scored just six points in the second half and QB Kenny Pickett only threw for 126 yards against a Green Bay secondary that was missing a starting safety and two starting corners, including its top cornerback in Jaire Alexander. Former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger said on his Footbahlin’ podcast, which was live during the game today, that he doesn’t feel that the team will be able to keep up with a team that has a good enough offense and can score more than teams like the Packers whose offense has struggled this year.
“You’re winning the games you’re supposed to win, that’s important,” Roethlisberger said at the end of the victory over Green Bay. “At the end of the day you gotta win. We’re still lacking in the passing game a little bit. If we had to play a team that scores points and we had to keep up with them, we can’t do that.”
Pittsburgh’s offense just hasn’t been great, particularly its passing offense. Their ground game took off in Week Nine and that continued today, with 205 yards on the ground. But when you can’t pass the ball effectively, it’s going to be hard to keep up with some of the more explosive offenses around the league.
In the next two weeks, Pittsburgh has two major tests with the Cleveland Browns due up in Week 11 and then the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 12. Both teams scored at least 27 points today, with Cleveland beating the Baltimore Ravens 33-31 and the Bengals falling to the Houston Texans 30-27.
While the Steelers neutralized the Cleveland offense once this season, we’ll see if they can do it again. The Bengals have an array of offensive pieces who could do some damage against the Steelers, with QB Joe Burrow among the best in the game. That’s going to be a great test for the Steelers in Week 12 to see not only if their defense can slow down Cincinnati, but if their offense can do enough to keep up with Cincinnati’s.
When the Steelers have lost this season, it’s been due to their offense being unable to keep up. They started off slow against the San Francisco 49ers and the Houston Texans, and both teams built a lead the Steelers couldn’t overcome. That’s going to be a downfall going forward if the passing game continues to stagnate and the Steelers can’t keep up with some of the premier teams in the AFC as they look to make a playoff push.
Getting Pickett to play better is going to be a major focus for Pittsburgh down the stretch, and we’ll see if he’s able to do so. If he doesn’t, this Steelers team could struggle to make noise when it comes down to getting in the postseason and doing damage in the playoff field.
Watch the full Footbahlin’ livestream below.
