The Pittsburgh Steelers aligned under shotgun 50% of the time in their preseason opener, their first with Arthur Smith as their offensive coordinator, as the quarterback was in the gun for 31 of Pittsburgh’s 62 total plays, including penalties and two-point conversions, according to a study compiled by Dave Bryan.
Pittsburgh’s longest play came under center, a 38-yard completion from QB Kyle Allen to WR Scotty Miller. They had four explosive plays under center, two passes and a 24-yard run by RB Daijun Edwards and a 20-yard run by RB Jonathan Ward. They had three explosive plays out of shotgun, all passes. Pittsburgh was under center more heavily in the first half, running 19 plays under center and just 12 in shotgun, but in the second half, with Pittsburgh trailing, they ran shotgun 19 times while going under center just once.
It was a little surprising to see just two plays out of pistol, as it’s a formation that the Steelers have worked on in camp, and pistol usage could continue to increase under Smith. With Pittsburgh throwing the ball more as they looked to come back in the second half, it’s no surprise to see the team utilize shotgun more. They had just seven designed run plays in the second half, with one of them being the 24-yard explosive run by Edwards.
With Russell Wilson on track to play in Pittsburgh’s second preseason game against the Buffalo Bills, it’ll be worth paying attention to their alignment with the first-team offense. Last night, Pittsburgh ran nine shotgun snaps with Justin Fields, who started at quarterback, and also ran eight snaps with Fields under center. With Fields’ mobility, it’s not a surprise he was in the gun more than he was under center. Of the plays under center, four were designed runs, although two plays under center were fumbled snaps and aborted plays. Fields threw one pass under center and scrambled once.
Last year, Pittsburgh was primarily a shotgun team, running 616 plays out of the gun and 573 under center, per NFL Savant, and the team was again more heavily under the gun, although it was a fairly even split in their first preseason game with Smith calling the plays. With the team still learning their new offense, it’s good data to note, and it’ll be interesting to watch to see how Pittsburgh’s alignment potentially changes throughout the preseason and especially throughout the regular season as the team starts to get a grip of the offense under Smith.
