To first win the game, you must not lose it. Simple and cliché as it sounds, the Pittsburgh Steelers are struggling to achieve that bottom-of-the-barrel goal. After two lackluster preseason performances in which Russell Wilson and Justin Fields have led zero touchdown drives, OC Arthur Smith says the issues are Steelers beating Steelers.
“We gotta get out of our own way,” Smith told reporters Tuesday via The Pat McAfee Show’s Mark Kaboly. “And those are things we have to clean up. So that’s kind of the way I assess it.”
In the opener against the Houston Texans, a wave of penalties and exchange issues doomed the offense. Twice, there were botched snaps between C Nate Herbig and QB Justin Fields doomed plays before they even began while pre-snap penalties also walked the offense backwards.
Snaps were clean Saturday night against the Buffalo Bills but the penalties persisted. WR Calvin Austin III had a false start on the first possession that turned 3rd and 5 into 3rd and 10 while TE Darnell Washington was later flagged for holding, putting Pittsburgh into 2nd and 14.
Of the six third down opportunities Wilson and the starting offense had against Buffalo, they averaged 9.5 yards to go. They converted just one of those six, a manageable 3rd and 2 where Wilson hit WR Van Jefferson over the middle. Any offense will struggle and third-and-long and despite Pittsburgh’s roster upgrades, this offense can’t sustain playing behind the sticks.
A veteran offensive coordinator, Smith knows the Steelers must get back to basics.
“You get off track with pre-snap issues, which was an issue the first game. And then you get into the last one and you have possession downs, false starts, you get off track, you’re gonna make yourself one-dimensional. It’s a hard way to make a living. That’s not our standard and that’s not acceptable.”
First down offense has been a sore spot for the Steelers. In 2023, they averaged 5.0 yards on first down, 25th in the NFL. That bottom-third mark was an improvement over recent years where Pittsburgh was among the worst in football. Here’s their yearly rankings under Matt Canada.
Steelers First Down Yardage (2021-2023)
2023 – 5.0 yards per play (25th)
2022 – 4.7 yards per play (31st)
2021 – 4.1 yards per play (32nd)
Improvement, at least, but far from where Pittsburgh needs to be. Though it’s preseason and a small sample size, the Steelers’ starting offense averaged a paltry 2 yards per play on first down against Buffalo. That included one of three sacks Russell Wilson took, nothing open on a failed max protect play-action call.
With time to course correct, the Steelers need to look stronger against the Detroit Lions in the finale. They’ll play their first and only road preseason game of the summer and though August crowds are quiet compared to regular season action, playing away from home increases the chance of false starts, miscommunication, and unforced errors. It won’t get easier for Pittsburgh when they begin the year, on the road the first two weeks when they travel to Atlanta and Denver.
