While QB Russell Wilson has shown the ability to take the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense to another level, one area they’ve regressed in is short yardage. Third and fourth and short has become a chore for this team.
Consider this. In Weeks 1-6, the Steelers converted 71.4-percent of their attempts on third/fourth and 1-2. Since Week 7, that number has plummeted to exactly 50 percent. That included the team going just 3-of-7 in its Thursday night loss to the Cleveland Browns, failing on two of its fourth-down short-yardage attempts. A 4th and 1 and 4th and 2 failure that follows in the footsteps of a failed 4th and 1 play last Sunday in the Steelers’ win over the Baltimore Ravens.
So what happened this time? Why is Pittsburgh struggling so much? Let’s break down the two plays.
Just like the Ravens game, the first one against the Browns got off to a bad start. There was confusion over whether the Steelers were going for it or punting, and C Zach Frazier and LG Isaac Seumalo start coming off the field. I assume Frazier is following QB Russell Wilson and Seumalo is following Frazier.
When Fields steps onto the field, he’s looking around for his center. A helpful man to have in a time like this. He has to motion the linemen to come back onto the field. By the time Fields can even begin to relay the play call, there’s only 15 seconds left on the play clock (that’s when headset communication between OC and QB is turned off, though I assume Smith had already sent the play in by this point).
A concerned Arthur Smith is watching the play clock wind down and – I’m a poor lip reader – potentially saying “Let’s go” to someone (not Fields with the headset turned off at this point).
The Steelers don’t actually get set on the line until there are six seconds left on the play clock. Then, they have to motion RB Cordarrelle Patterson out wide. At this point, they’re really running out of time. Patterson gets set just in time (by rule, he needs one second to remain static to avoid a penalty) and Fields snaps the ball just in time.
Here’s a look at everything taking place before the snap.
To the play itself. Rookie RG Mason McCormick pulls right to left. Fields takes a jab step that way and then changes course to his right. He’s taken down before even getting back to the line of scrimmage, stopped for a two-yard loss.
So what happened? Did Fields abandon the design of the play and run against his puller? I strongly believe McCormick was a false key. And that Fields went the “correct” direction as the play intended.
Based on his footwork of a jab step, he never actually ran left, and the blocking from the right side, the down blocks from RT Spencer Anderson and TE MyCole Pruitt indicate this was a designed counter. Pull the guard the one way, run the other in the hopes of getting Cleveland to bite.
Remember, the Steelers’ last three short-yardage attempts were the same look. Two successful ones against Washington and one failure against Baltimore. Spencer Anderson came in to play RT, Broderick Jones shifted to the left side, McCormick pulled right to left.
Pittsburgh was trying to present a similar look in the hopes of baiting Cleveland into thinking it was getting the same play. But the Browns were not fooled.
Here’s a look at the play.
Where is the blame? Multi-fold. One, a rushed play. Fields may downplay its impact and maybe it’s true the actual play call wasn’t late into Fields’ headset. Everything else was. Linemen coming off the field, being pushed back onto it, breaking the huddle, getting to the line, shifting Patterson out. It’s all rushed. Same as it was against Baltimore.
Rushing plays in these weighty moments never ends well. Less time to see the front, less element of surprise of when the ball will be snapped. It’s ugly organization and process and shouldn’t be happening in Week 12. That’s preseason/early season stuff.
To the actual play. Two issues. One, while the Steelers are trying to present the same look of Jones at left tackle and McCormick pulling, their backfield is different. Against Washington and Baltimore, Russell Wilson was in the game and under center. And Connor Heyward was a fullback to the strongside.
Here, Fields is in shotgun and Heyward is the sidecar back. The Browns aren’t going to buy it’s the same play with the backfield looking radically different. If you want to sell it, you gotta make it look identical. Funny enough, had Fields just followed McCormick, this is likely a conversion and big play. Darnell Washington had a great down block and McCormick was going to kick out his man. If Smith kept things the same, this converts.
Beyond that, the play is too clunky. A slow-developing start/stop/start on 4th and 1? There’s just too much going on, too many moving pieces. Even if the Browns were surprised, they had time to recover. They swarmed and made the stop.
The next came on 4th and 1 in the second half. A little less to discuss. Pittsburgh in 13 personnel with TE MyCole Pruitt the FB in this I-Form. Steelers are running split zone with this Y-arc look, Pruitt releasing in the flat. It’s designed to “block” the EMOL without having to touch him, widening him out and creating the cutback lane. Similar to what the Steelers ran to close out their Week 3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, though then, the formation was different. Against L.A., TE Pat Freiermuth flared out from his Y-spot, not fullback. Had the same impact.
Here, it’s an execution issue. LG Isaac Seumalo simply loses his block and the DT sheds him. He gets into the backfield and takes down RB Jaylen Warren at the line for the turnover on downs.
Less issue with the process and play call here. Each looked fine. It was an issue with the guys up front not doing their job. In this case, a veteran like Seumalo made a critical error.
No matter how you slice it, the Steelers gotta get better in situational football. They’re about league average on third down, bottom five in the red zone, and now struggling mightily 23rd in 3rd/4th and 1-2 yards on the season at 59.1 percent. Since Wilson took over in Week 7, they’re tied for 28th.
If these things don’t get cleaned up, Pittsburgh won’t have the playoff success it’s hoping for. That’s for sure.
