If it wasn’t for such a listless performance by the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense, leading to a coordinator change, more focus would land on punter Pressley Harvin III and his struggles in Sunday’s 13-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns. In what was expected to be a low-scoring fight between two struggling offenses and two far better defenses, field position was the name of the game.
The Browns reaped the benefits of their strong outing from punter Corey Bojorquez, averaging a solid 47.5 yards per punt with 38.6 yard net. The Steelers weren’t as fortunate. Harvin averaged just 39.4 yards while his net dipped to 35.3, his lowest mark of the season. Cleveland won the field position battle and the game. Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Mike Tomlin called out his punting unit to step up.
“The net punting, that’s another reflection of how games oftentimes unfold differently,” Tomlin said via the team’s YouTube channel. “We played them in Week Two. The first time we played them, we kept them on the long field, particularly in the second half with our punting. They did a really nice job with their punting, and we didn’t do a good job with ours in the second game.”
Harvin’s day got off to a decent enough start. But he had two ugly punts that robbed Pittsburgh of valuable field position. Late in the third quarter punting from the Steelers’ 27, Harvin kicked a low liner that had little hangtime. Returner James Proche returned it 21 yards the other way, a net punt of only 21 yards, and the Browns’ drive began at the Steelers’ 48. Pittsburgh’s defense stood tall, CB Chandon Sullivan intercepting Browns QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson, but the Steelers’ offense was backed up near its own 20.
Like the rest of the game, Pittsburgh’s offense went three-and-out. And Harvin had his worst punt of the day. He shanked it off his right foot, an ugly 20-yarder that went out of bounds at the Steelers’ 45, a moment that pumped up Browns players and fans.
Again, the defense made plays and forced a three-and-out, but Pittsburgh started another drive backed up, this time from its own 28. The Steelers put together a scoring drive, tying the game at 10, but Tomlin’s point still stands. They lost the battle of field position in a game where it was more important than what either offense was doing. It’s worth mentioning the coverage unit being a component of net punting and the Steelers’ injuries have shaken up the team’s special teams depth chart as much as anything, but those two poor outcomes by Harvin were largely of his own making.
In his third year, Harvin has improved. He’s become more consistent, and the production has followed. Despite that performance, his 44.2 yards per punt is a career-high while his 40.2 yards net is down from last year by about a yard. He’s done well with his “pin deep” punts, avoiding touchbacks and placing 41.7 percent of his boots inside the opposing 20-yard line. In aggregate, his 20 punts inside the 20 is seventh-best in football, and his percentage ranks 11th.
As the weather turns cold and the Steelers’ offense looking even more frozen, the specialists may have to be the Steelers’ best players on “offense.” Harvin creating field position with kicker Chris Boswell connecting from long-range to put points on the board. Harvin has always felt close to being on the edge of losing his job. A strong finish to the end of this season would make him breathe easier during the Steelers’ 2024 training camp.
