It might have seemed like a last-ditch effort to get things straightened out, but the decision to move Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada to the sideline seems to have breathed some fresh air into a stagnant offense.
That showed last Thursday night against the Tennessee Titans. The Steelers marched right down the field on the opening drive, covering 78 yards in 10 plays, scoring an opening-drive touchdown on a Najee Harris 10-yard run, giving the offense life.
Later, quarterback Kenny Pickett helped engineer the eventual game-winning drive, connecting with wide receiver Diontae Johnson on a big 32-yard strike down the right sideline before then finding him for a 3-yard touchdown a few plays later as the Steelers had one of their better offensive performances of the season in the 20-16 win.
Players seemed to like the move to bring Canada down to the sideline, and so did head coach Mike Tomlin. We hadn’t yet heard from Canada himself about the move to the sideline, but on Thursday during his weekly session with the media the much-maligned offensive coordinator stated that he liked the move and that the team overall is pleased with the results, which is all that matters.
“There’s pluses and minuses to all of it, right? There’s upstairs, you see things. On the field, you’ve got more face to face, and we made a decision to find a way to play better. And obviously the results worked out Thursday night. So it was great,” Canada said to reporters Thursday, according to video via the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat’s Amanda Godsey.
The results did end up working out for the Steelers. Pittsburgh gained 326 yards of total offense, didn’t turn the football over and had a balanced attack, rushing for 166 yards and a touchdown while throwing for 160 yards and a score.
That balance stood out in a major way as the Steelers were able to control the game for stretches and then ultimately able to put the game away.
Though the move to the sideline garnered a positive reaction from not only Canada himself, but Tomlin, quarterback Kenny Pickett and wide receiver Diontae Johnson, work remains to be done for the Steelers offense, which is still one of the worst offenses in football in every statistical category.
Still, Thursday night was a good step in the right direction. There’s better communication offensively throughout games with Canada and his players, and that will only translate to better results on the field.
