The Pittsburgh Steelers dominated the preseason a year ago. TE Pat Freiermuth remembers, which is why he’s not too worried about their struggles this year. Or at least it’s one of the reasons, the others being the talent they have and the work they do.
The Steelers beat every team by at least two possessions during last year’s preseason, blowing out the Falcons, 24-0, in the finale. This year, they are struggling to even score points, managing just 3 points last week with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. While the offensive line has been the main culprit, Freiermuth knows there is blame across the board.
“Last year, we were the highest of the highs. Obviously, we’re not where we want to be right now, so I’ve seen both perspectives of it,” Freiermuth said earlier this week, via the team’s website. “I was actually thinking to myself, against Houston, this was the first preseason game I lost. We’re expecting to go into the season on a high note, so we have to get the rust out [this last preseason game] and we’ll be fine.”
Freiermuth only played 12 snaps in the Steelers’ 20-12 loss to the Texans. He only saw one target, making the catch for 6 yards. Wilson did not play in that game, though, and Fields only played relatively briefly as well. The offense scored two touchdowns in the final 20 minutes, playing against Houston’s third- and fourth-stringers. The Texans already had a 17-point lead by then, up 20-6 entering the fourth quarter.
That is much in contrast to how the Steelers looked at this time last year. Former Steelers QB Kenny Pickett had virtually a perfect preseason, scoring a touchdown on every drive in which he played. But as Freiermuth witnessed, that didn’t come close to carrying over into the regular season.
The Steelers ranked 28th in scoring last year, coming up shy of 18 points per game — and that was with a late-season boost by Mason Rudolph, who helped the offense to two 30-plus-point games. That season, Pat Freiermuth missed significant time due to injury, which obviously didn’t help. But with the way things are looking this year, how much can he help an offense that can’t help itself? We even have crackpots suggesting that the Steelers would be better off with Pickett back right now.
Pickett, by the way, is 25-for-35 passing for the Philadelphia Eagles this preseason. He has thrown for 159 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions, but has taken 6 sacks. He has 10 rushing yards on 5 attempts, as well, with a long of 3 yards.
Russell Wilson so far is 8-for-10 for 47 yards, Justin Fields 16-for 23 for 159 yards. Neither has thrown a touchdown or an interception, though Kyle Allen has done both. Freiermuth has only played 25 total snaps in the preseason, limited to 2 catches for 16 yards. But hey, it’s just the preseason, right?
