The Pittsburgh Steelers knew they had problems with their offense that needed to be solved. This offseason, they did a lot to try to achieve that goal. Through the first few weeks of the season, they didn’t look amazing, but there were visible improvements. Justin Fields was doing a lot to make the offense seem better, but their Week 5 game against the Cowboys seemed like a step back. Therefore, former NFL running back LeSean McCoy is calling for Russell Wilson to take over as the starter.
“Give Russ a shot to see what he has because one thing I do know about Russ, he competes, and he can throw the ball,” McCoy said Wednesday on FS1’s The Facility. “The Steelers’ offense with Justin Fields, it’s the same offense it’s been for the last five years. Play great defense, give your team a chance to win, get some field goals. I’m tired of that.”
It’s not wrong to say the Steelers’ offense is the same it has been, but it’s also not totally correct. It’s more like their offensive philosophy is the same. Their scheme has changed under Arthur Smith, but the core of what they want their offense to be has not. They want to run the ball, control the clock, and not have their quarterback lose them the game.
They don’t want to be the team that throws the ball constantly and relies on their quarterback to win them games. Defense is their identity. Fields probably could make more plays throwing the ball, but the Steelers don’t want him to have to do that.
None of that is going to change with Wilson as the starter. In fact, they’re going to lose an asset in Fields’ legs. He’s been the best part of their running game over the last few weeks. Their offensive struggles aren’t on him. He made some errors against the Dallas Cowboys but benching him for Wilson won’t change much.
And it’s not like Fields hasn’t made plays through the air. He’s actually been pretty good as a passer. The biggest problem has been that many of his best plays have amounted to nothing due to penalties or drops. Even against the Cowboys, he made some throws downfield, but his receivers couldn’t hang onto them.
McCoy’s real issue should be with the Steelers’ organization as a whole. This is what they’ve wanted to be on offense for years. It’s what they think gives them the best chance to win. That conversation is much more complicated, though, because it has worked in some games this year. The problem is they aren’t consistent enough with it yet. Changing quarterbacks won’t help with that either.
