The Pittsburgh Steelers had their best game offensively of the season on Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers, and one of their biggest contributors was WR Calvin Austin III. He had four receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown, which came on a 55-yard catch-and-run in the fourth quarter. Austin told Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio that the offense has taken a noticeable step forward due to a lack of panic, which he credited to how Arthur Smith runs the offense in his first season as Pittsburgh’s offensive coordinator.
“Calvin Austin told me that the offense is better this year for one reason. There’s no panic. And he attributes that to new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who has settled everything down, and we’ve seen the results,” Florio said on Football Night In America.
Pittsburgh’s offense the last few seasons under former offensive coordinator Matt Canada was a mess, and Pittsburgh struggled to score consistently week in and week out. It was an offense rife with three-and-outs, and Pittsburgh was continually putting its defense back on the field.
This year, while the Steelers haven’t scored a ton of touchdowns, with just four through three games, they’ve controlled the ball really well, and Justin Fields has been able to largely stay away from negative plays. He’s not making some of the ill-advised throws he did in Chicago. Nor is he trying to do too much with his legs. He’s been playing within the flow of the offense, the ground game has been solid, and the Steelers are undefeated because the offense has done its job.
The defense has been one of the best, if not the best, units in football. One reason they’ve been even better than they have been recently is because they’re more rested. The offense is grinding out drives, and the defense is getting a chance to get a breather on the sideline. The opposing defense also gets worn down, as the Steelers saw today and it could be one reason why their run game was much better in the second half.
Smith has made a huge difference in Pittsburgh this season, and the fact that the offense and the defense are finally playing complementary football has made them look like a good football team. They’ll have two solid tests over the next two weeks in the Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys, but there’s a realistic possibility that with the growth of the offense week to week this team could start 5-0.
