For the first time since 2022, the Pittsburgh Steelers put up more than 20 points and lost a game. That broke a nine-game winning streak under such conditions, a testament to their defense. But while the Steelers produced 24 points this past Sunday, the defense allowed 27. That included an early 17-0 hole, which the offense impressively nearly dug their way out of.
That was thanks to a mostly excellent second half, including three consecutive touchdown drives. The Steelers had not done that since before Ben Roethlisberger retired, going back to 2021. It still wasn’t enough to win, but they hope they can build off of that. Especially the way QB Justin Fields played.
“It was a surge, man. Everybody was making sparks for us”, RB Najee Harris said, via the Steelers’ website. “Everybody started making plays, and then we all came together on the sideline and we was like, ‘We’ve got to dig down deep and keep pushing through’. We just came up short. But [I] just tip my hat to the team, because, from my times being here, that was one of the few times where I think that we actually looked really good”.
The Steelers drafted Najee Harris in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, so that’s a good amount of time. He has played in 55 career games, and yet has only seen the offense look “really good” a few times. Considering he played most of his career with QB Kenny Pickett and OC Matt Canada, that’s not hard to believe.
This season, the Steelers are currently averaging 18.8 points per game, which ranks 22nd in the NFL. But, importantly, they are trending in the right direction with 44 points in the last two. If you took that 22-point average, they would still rank 15th right now, though, so there is still room. There are seven teams averaging 26 points per game or better, but there are also some early-season outliers. The Saints, for example, are averaging 31.8 points per game, and nobody expects them to sustain that. After all, they went from 44 points to 12 one week to the next. In the past two weeks, they are averaging 18 points per game, losing both.
But back to the point—how do the Steelers consistently play the way they played through most of the second half, offensively? Having had to play musical chairs along the offensive line hasn’t helped. They should get Isaac Seumalo back this week, but will now have to settle in Mason McCormick at right guard.
It doesn’t look like the Steelers will have Jaylen Warren or Cordarrelle Patterson this week, so the run game will fall all on Najee Harris’ shoulders. He has carried that load before, but can this offensive line push him forward?
