I was all set to write an article last week about how good the Pittsburgh Steelers’ red-zone offense is with Russell Wilson. After all, it’s an area that has been a strength for him, even during his Denver nadir. But then they went out and posted their worst red-zone performance in a while.
The Steelers didn’t simply go 0-for-4 in the red zone against the Ravens and 0-for-1 in goal-to-go situations. They hardly even came close to scoring, barring some hopeful balls to George Pickens. On one play, there was a case to draw pass interference, but that’s about it. Russell Wilson in particular looked uncomfortable and threw several balls away due to pressure he couldn’t navigate. So perhaps it’s time to bring in the other guy, Chris Long suggests.
“I think if we could see a little more Justin Fields in the red zone, [that would be good]”, he said on his Green Light podcast. “Maybe just take the red-zone snaps. Because right now, it’s not working. That’s gonna bite [the Steelers] in the ass at some point”.
Through 11 Weeks, the Steelers rank 30th in red-zone offense, continuing to drop with Russell Wilson. They are producing touchdowns at just a 44.4-percent clip, or on a mere 10 of 24 red-zone trips. But there are times where they have looked very good, and that is the problem.
In his Steelers debut, Wilson led the team to 37 points, including a 4-for-6 showing in the red zone. He hit George Pickens and Van Jefferson for touchdowns, running one in himself with Najee Harris capping things off. In Week 10, they went 3-for-4, including 2-for-2 from goal-to-go situations. Wilson hit on touchdowns to Pickens and Pat Freiermuth, Harris running one in.
The problem is the other two games, but Sunday against the Ravens was far more egregious. While they also went 0-for-4 against the Giants, that included two shoulda-been touchdowns to Pickens. The Steelers wiped one out due to an unnecessary penalty by Broderick Jones. On the other, Pickens simply didn’t get both—rather than two—feet down inbounds. A third touchdown was available if Jefferson had anticipated Wilson’s pass, or if Wilson had thrown to Calvin Austin III earlier or around a defender’s arm.
As a result of all this, the Steelers are just 7-for-20 in the red zone since Russell Wilson took over. They were still averaging over 30 points through three games but scored just 18 on Sunday. Would Justin Fields suddenly fix their red-zone problems? Surely not, but he might help.
“They’re used to doing that”, Long said of the Steelers winning despite offensive and scoring troubles. “It’s just now you should be better because the offense as a whole has been better than anything in the post-Roethlisberger era. Then you stall in the red zone. The delta between their performance between the 20s and inside the 20s is crazy”.
The last thing the Steelers want is to have scoring issues come back and bite them on the ass. They have a good thing going right now at 8-2, whether it’s Russell Wilson or Justin Fields out there. Before last week, I would say it’s just some fine details that need cleaning up. But if they can’t protect Wilson and he can’t make throws, then maybe they have to try a change-up.
