While the Pittsburgh Steelers are on a four-game winning streak and are scoring more points, OC Arthur Smith refuses to allow his unit to grow complacent. Nor will he go easy on QB Russell Wilson, whom he said got off to a slow start last week—which he did. Aside from his three touchdowns—which are the most important—he put up his worst numbers so far. But he still made some plays.
And the Steelers know they likely can’t get away with that facing an elite offense like the Baltimore Ravens. So that means Arthur Smith and Russell Wilson need to clean things up this week because division ball is here.
“I didn’t think it was our cleanest game in terms of efficiency”, Smith said of the Steelers’ offensive performance against the Commanders last Sunday, via transcript. “I thought we were too boom or bust. But I thought the fourth quarter we started to wear them down. I thought we made plays in critical moments in the red zone and certainly on third down”.
While the Steelers rushed for 140 yards, it took them 43 carries, or 3.3 yards per attempt. It wasn’t until really the fourth quarter that they started breaking more runs. Russell Wilson also started finding his rhythm down the field as well. Smith chalks that up to his demeanor and staying poised through adversity.
“Russ [Wilson], you’ve got to give him a lot of credit. He does a great job of staying positive”, the Steelers’ offensive coordinator said. “You look around the league, and some people let their emotions of the first two series go, and he’s always had a unique ability for that, and it’s real”.
Wilson has had his positive personality questioned throughout his career, but the Steelers have found it genuine. The reality is whether real or artificial, it’s the buy-in that makes the difference. Arthur Smith knows the Steelers feed off their quarterback’s energy, and that helped them overcome a 10-point deficit against the Commanders. Even while committing two turnovers in the attempt, including a fumble at the 1-yard line.
“There’s always things to work on, and that’s why you have to be objective”, Smith said in assessing the performance of Wilson and the Steelers’ offense. “You can’t get too proud of yourself if you win a game like that because there’s always things you’ve got to fix. That’s why you’ve got to be sober-minded and really objective”.
Notably, Steelers games have been easier to watch while sober-minded this season thanks to Smith and Wilson. They do have the offense in a better place than Steelers fans would recognize over the past few years. It may look rough at times, but more often than not, they are making the plays that need to be made when the time comes.
