This year, it seemed like the Pittsburgh Steelers were set to take a step forward offensively. However, that has not been the case. They’ve still been sluggish and inconsistent. They’ve had moments where they’ve look decent, but they still can’t put a full game together. Now, it looks like they’re turning to Russell Wilson at quarterback. Whether that’s the right call or not remains to be seen. Analyst Colin Cowherd believes the Steelers don’t have what it takes to run a successful offense no matter who is playing quarterback.
“They’ve got an identity, but what they don’t know is offense,” Cowherd said Wednesday on FS1’s The Herd. “This does not win in 2024. Getting sacked a lot, running too much, bad from the pocket. It doesn’t win. You can say, ‘They don’t have an offensive identity,’ [but] the franchise has an identity, and that illustrates [Mike] Tomlin’s excellence.”
Cowherd makes an interesting point. The Steelers have been criticized this year for not having an identity on offense, but Cowherd isn’t saying that’s the case. His point is that they do have an identity but that it’s bad. That’s not a terrible evaluation. The Steelers clearly have a style of football they want to play on offense. They’ve just struggled with execution.
Coming into this season, the Steelers made it clear that they wanted to be a run-first offense. Arthur Smith has a reputation as a great run-game designer, and they made sure to beef up their offensive line as well. If everything was perfect, maybe they would be better on offense. However, injuries seemed to have slowed them down.
The Steelers’ offensive line has been decimated by injuries. That’s not an excuse because it’s something everyone deals with, but it could help explain why they’ve been unable to run the ball in some games. Najee Harris has been a solid running back this year. He took over in the Steelers’ latest victory, which shows that if they can play their brand of football, they can have a decent offense.
However, they still needed their defense and special teams to jump-start them. Slow starts have been a serious problem. They get in their own way too much. There are signs that this offensive philosophy can work though.
Cowherd’s point that the Steelers can’t win with a run-first offense isn’t necessarily true. Take one look at the Baltimore Ravens. Yes, they have one of the best quarterbacks in the league, but recently, their run game has been driving them forward. Running back Derrick Henry has been an absolute monster for them. There are current, successful examples of the Steelers’ offensive identity.
Maybe with Wilson at quarterback, the Steelers’ offense will be more efficient. However, it’s more likely that there are bigger offensive issues beyond quarterback for the Steelers. Wilson and Justin Fields are both flawed, but the Steelers haven’t been good enough in other areas. The offensive line and wide receivers in particular need to be better.
Saying their identity doesn’t work today wouldn’t be correct though. Their execution is flawed, but the idea could work. Games this year have proven that.
