Coming out of the ugly 9-3 preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills last Saturday, there was quite a bit of noise — in a negative way — regarding the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense.
Much of that criticism centered on the Steelers’ offensive line, which struggled to protect quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. The Steelers couldn’t run the ball, couldn’t pass protect and really couldn’t do much of anything.
That led to quite a bit of talk about the starting quarterback job, questions about Arthur Smith being the right answer at offensive coordinator for the Steelers, and more throughout the last week.
On Saturday in the preseason finale against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field, the starting offense, led by Wilson, punched it in for a touchdown on the first drive of the game, churning out two explosive plays in the process.
Speaking to Steelers.com’s Missi Matthews on the sidelines in the third quarter on KDKA-TV, Wilson praised the offense for a very strong showing on the opening series that ended the day for many of them.
“We were locked in all week,” Wilson said to Matthews, according to video via Steelers.com. “Especially after last week we felt like there was a lot of noise, so we just wanted to be focused on what we’ve been doing every day in practice because we believe that. We get to go against one of the best defenses in the world every day and we know that we can be better.
“I think we stepped up to the plate today.”
The Steelers’ starting offense certainly stepped up to the plate.
Taking over at the 40-yard line after a squibbed kick from the Lions failed to land inside the landing zone on the kickoff, leading to a penalty, the Steelers went 60 yards in five plays. The drive was highlighted by a 32-yard connection from Wilson to wide receiver George Pickens on a 3rd and 11 and capped by a 31-yard touchdown run from veteran running back Cordarrelle Patterson.
After struggling to do much of anything right in the first two weeks of the preseason, the Steelers’ first-team offense came out and looked a bit of a mess initially. After a 5-yard run from Najee Harris to open the game, the Steelers lost 6 yards on a failed screen pass to Pickens, setting up the 3rd and 11.
But credit to the offensive line as it created a perfect pocket for Wilson and allowed him to scan the field and fire a dart to Pickens for a 32-yard gain. That moved the chains, putting the Steelers scoring position.
Two plays later, Patterson burst through the heart of the Detroit defense thanks to great blocks from left guard Isaac Seumalo and center Zach Frazier, clearing a lane for the 31-yard touchdown.
Five plays, 60 yards, six points. Mission accomplished.
