The Pittsburgh Steelers offense for the 2023 season was subpar. That is not news to anybody who watched the team. It was so bad that they fired offensive coordinator Matt Canada mid-season after a Week 11 loss to the Cleveland Browns. That was an unprecedented move for the organization that is normally known for stability and continuity. When you look at offenses that perform so poorly, one thing you can often point to is self-inflicted wounds in the form of penalties. Unfortunately for the Steelers, they cannot use that excuse for 2023.
The Steelers had the second-fewest offensive penalties in the league last season with just 36 total penalties on offense. For comparison, the Kansas City Chiefs led the league with 69 offensive penalties committed.
It is a bit troubling that the Steelers played that clean of football on offense and still only managed 17.9 points per game. In 2022, the Steelers were roughly in the middle of the pack with 48 offensive penalties committed. They had 18.1 points per game in 2022, so they even slightly regressed in that metric despite having a more experienced offense and fewer penalties.
Don’t get me wrong, the individual players should be commended for their clean play and under normal circumstances the lack of penalties would be something to celebrate. But instead it leaves you wondering how the offense could be so inept even with “clean” play.
The Steelers new offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith, had a similar story with the 2023 Atlanta Falcons. They were near the bottom of the league in offensive penalties committed and total offensive output. If the Steelers can continue their clean play under Smith, they have the pieces necessary on offense to capitalize and make large strides.
Team President Art Rooney II recently defended Kenny Pickett in one of his end-of-season media sessions and said he has “showed himself to be a winner” while also recognizing he must take the next step and start scoring more points. The way the Steelers’ roster is constructed, they don’t need a top-five offense to win games. They proved as much last year with a 10-7 record with a bottom-five scoring offense. They just need to be a mistake-free unit that can finish drives in the red zone and score points in high-percentage situations.
Hopefully the team can continue in their ways of limiting the amount of penalties committed on offense. If they can’t, they will have to add that to the list of things to overcome in 2024.
