Arthur Smith might be a sick man in all the best possible ways. An old-school coordinator, a college offensive lineman and ex-tight ends coach, Smith isn’t going to dazzle with 50 pass attempts per game or a creative scheme that will make Andy Reid blush.
It’s all about imposing your will on the opponent. Mission accomplished for the Pittsburgh Steelers in Sunday’s win over the Atlanta Falcons. A ground-and-pound plan, the Steelers ran the ball 41 times and controlled the clock for nearly 36 minutes. It wasn’t pretty and the offense must be more efficient. But Smith still loves the attitude Pittsburgh played with in Atlanta.
“Maybe I’m sick in the head, but that was beautiful to me,” Smith said to reporters Thursday said via the PPG’s Ray Fittipaldo.
“You don’t want to give them any strategy, but we wanted to control the line of scrimmage,” Smith said via a team-provided transcript. “A little blunt force trauma. Made it ugly–pretty at times –depending on your perspective. And I thought, as a game wore on, we were able to possess the ball. I think 36 minutes, 11 in the fourth quarter…That took a lot of clock, and we were rolling them off the ball. So, as a coach, maybe I’m sick in the head, but that was beautiful to me.”
With uncertainty at quarterback and facing a talented Falcons secondary featuring safeties Jessie Bates and Justin Simmons along with CB A.J. Terrell, the Steelers were content taking the air out of the football. RB Najee Harris resumed the role he had as a rookie, serving as the team’s bell-cow back and finishing with 20 carries. Yards weren’t easy to come by, but Pittsburgh moved the ball and controlled the line of scrimmage. In the fourth quarter alone, the Steelers held the ball for over 11 minutes.
It’s counterculture to where the NFL has been. The game has moved to a wide-open passing world. Defenses getting smaller and faster. Pittsburgh is banking on being able to win by zagging with power and the war of attrition. There’s a debate to be had over how far that model can take a team – can it win a Super Bowl in 2024? – but it does make the Steelers a tough out.
Over the past five years leading an NFL offense, the Tennessee Titans in 2019 and 2020 and the Atlanta Falcons from 2021-2023, there’s only been two games in which Smith’s teams ran more than Pittsburgh did Sunday. Once with Atlanta, once with Tennessee, both 45-attempt performances. It’s possible the Steelers break that mark at some point during the season. That sure wouldn’t make Smith mad.
