The Pittsburgh Steelers moved to 3-0 with a win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, and Pittsburgh’s offense won the time-of-possession battle for the third week in a row and stayed committed to its run game, even when it wasn’t working in the first half. Pittsburgh has built itself an identity as a tough football team that can wear you down, and former Steelers head coach Bill Cowher praised new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith for bringing that to Pittsburgh.
“I just think in the past this offense has not had an identity. Maybe they always had a defense. What you have right now with Arthur Smith is an offense that’s got an identity, and also an offense that’s all of a sudden starting to feel itself and growing week to week. There’s a newness to this offense,” Cowher said Sunday on NFL Today on CBS.
It’s definitely an improvement from where the Steelers had been on offense the last few seasons, and Smith deserves a lot of credit for the turnaround. His personnel with the Steelers is similar to what it was when he was the offensive coordinator with the Tennessee Titans and built one of the best offenses in the league, and Pittsburgh has been methodical on offense this season. The Steelers haven’t overwhelmed anybody, but they’ve worn teams down and controlled the ball, letting their defense rest and make plays when it’s refreshed.
It’s worked out so far, and Pittsburgh’s wins against the Falcons in Week 1 and the Chargers today could wind up being two wins over playoff teams. It’s still early, but the offense has looked better each week, and yesterday was its cleanest and best overall performance. The one hiccup was Fields’ first turnover of the season, but the Steelers scored two touchdowns in a game for the first time all year and limited their penalties.
There’s no doubt that their ball-control, ground-and-pound style of offense has become their identity, and it’s something that’s continuing to grow and get better under Smith. We’ll see what happens at quarterback, with Russell Wilson getting healthier and Mike Tomlin needing to make a decision on whether Justin Fields remains the starter. But Fields has done everything asked of him and has been a big reason why the offense has become a solid unit.
I want to see the offense continue to grow with Fields under center, but if Wilson does take over, the identity will remain the same. The fact that the Steelers even have an identity is a nice change of pace from the Matt Canada days.
