The Pittsburgh Steelers offense has been fascinating to watch this year. Although they are a run-first team, they haven’t shied away from launching the ball downfield. Whether Justin Fields or Russell Wilson has been the quarterback, the Steelers have tried to utilize the deep ball to spark their offense. Because of that, no matter how sluggish they can look at times, analyst Mina Kimes believes the Steelers can battle back into any game.
“Generally, as you look across the league and you see teams like the Eagles, who just ground it out against the Steelers in this game, and the Steelers never even got the ball in the second half,” Kimes said Wednesday on her YouTube channel. “That strikes me as a real detriment in the postseason.
“However, the flip side of that, for all this offense’s flaws, I wouldn’t count them out if they’re having to score quickly or if they fall behind because of that explosive play potential.”
Kimes is correct that slow starts have been a real issue for the Steelers, which could hurt them in the playoffs. Against the Eagles, they started slow, but they never had that second-half explosion that they were used to. They waited too long to get going. Against better teams, that’s likely to bite them in the rear more.
However, their offense has still been good enough to win them games because of how quickly they can turn a spark into a blaze. Especially with Wilson as the quarterback, the Steelers have created massive chunk plays. George Pickens often produces a highlight reel play, starting the Steelers’ engine. However, other players have made plays as well.
With Pickens sidelined recently, the Steelers’ offense hasn’t looked the same. That’s because they lack that explosive element that Kimes believes makes them so dangerous. They’ve tried to recreate it, though. A flea flicker from Wilson to Calvin Austin III almost gave them life against the Eagles. A fumble just snuffed out their fire soon after.
During that same video, Kimes explained the other side of that coin, pointing out how the Steelers’ offense can be their own worst enemy.
“The flip side of that ability to get in a shootout, the fact that they’re so explosive, is that they strike me as very inefficient. There’s just too many three-and-outs. The run game isn’t consistent enough. Certainly, it’s been a detriment with George Pickens out, who is the primary source of those explosives.”
That inefficiency is a real problem for the Steelers. More often than not, they hurt themselves, basically doing nothing on first down to set up second-and-long and third-and-long. In those scenarios, the Steelers need to be explosive just to get a first down. It becomes a necessary part of their offense, which isn’t a stable form of success.
Luckily for the Steelers, when Pickens is healthy, he and Wilson form one of the best downfield connections in the NFL. Even in the twilight of his career, Wilson throws one of the best deep balls in the NFL. The Steelers have good personnel to produce explosiveness. They just need to find a little more consistency in other aspects of their game.
