Right before Arthur Smith and the 2024 season got underway, we wrote an article outlining the key benchmarks he and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense needed to hit. Like any goal setting, it’s important to look back and see how close Smith came to hitting those marks.
2024 Goal: Score At Least 21 PPG
2024 Outcome: 22.4 PPG
As we wrote at the time, 21 points per game felt like the floor the Steelers should achieve. While it’s a far cry from being a figure to celebrate, it also served as a major improvement over previous seasons. From 2020-2022, the Steelers never averaged more than 20.2 points per game.
At their peak, the Steelers cracked the top ten in scoring. Unfortunately, these stats can be sectioned off into three parts: the Justin Fields era (20.7 PPG), the Russell Wilson surge (28.4 PPG), and the regular season collapse (14.3 PPG). Pittsburgh ended the year by failing to score more than 17 points in their last five games, something they hadn’t “achieved” since 1969.
While Smith moved the offense forward and technically passed, it’s a hollow feeling based on the year ending with similar ineptitude.
2024 Goal: First Quarter Stats – Don’t Get Outscored
2024 Outcome: Steelers Outscored 112-48
A swing and miss so bad it should be hitting cleanup for the Pirates. Smith couldn’t control what the Steelers’ defense allowed, but that can’t be the blame here. Pittsburgh’s offense averaged a paltry 2.8 points per first quarter, and yet again, the Steelers played most of their games from behind. They led after the first quarter in just three of 17 regular-season games.
To put things in perspective, the Steelers’ offense scored 61 first-quarter points in 2023, 60 points in 2022, and 37 points in 2021. Smith only tapped Matt Canada’s first year as coordinator. Abysmal.
No matter who has been the coordinator or quarterback, the Steelers have consistently come out flat. So far, Smith hasn’t found the answer to fixing it.
2024 Goal: First Drive Success – Finish Top 10 in Scoring Drives, Top Half in Touchdowns
2024 Outcome: Tied-17th in Scoring Drives, Tied-Last In Touchdowns
Not even close. Pittsburgh had six first-drive scores, all field goals, but went the entire season without an opening-possession touchdown. Failing to do so since Week 16 of 2023, their drought is the second-longest in the NFL, only ahead of the Seattle Seahawks.
It’s hard to detail why Pittsburgh has habitually had such issues starting, not even fast, but doing anything beyond sputtering. But there’s no question it remains a huge challenge and issue that has to get resolved in 2025.
2024 Goal: Red Zone Work: 60-percent (leave the 20s)
2024 Outcome: 48.2-percent (29th in NFL)
When I said “leave the 20s,” I didn’t mean almost fall into the 30s. Another failure here for a Steelers’ offense that struggled to finish drives even during their best offensive showings (0-4 in a 26-18 win over the Giants, 2-4 in a 44-38 win over the Bengals).
There were bad luck, penalties, and weird quirks, but no matter the reason, Pittsburgh got no better inside the 20 under Arthur Smith. This figure mirrored the Steelers’ struggles across the Matt Canada era, where they never finished better than 54 percent or higher than 23rd-league wide. In fact, the 2024 results were nearly identical to the 2023 totals when Pittsburgh found the end zone 47.6-percent of the time, 27th in the NFL.
2024 Goal: 20-Plus Yard Completions – Finish At Least Average
2024 Outcome: 55 Completions (Eighth In NFL)
Another pass, though another goal that feels hollow. The Steelers’ big-play passing game worked well earlier. George Pickens continued to make plays, and Calvin Austin III emerged as a downfield threat between the numbers. Combined, they made up 27 of the 55 receptions. TE Pat Freiermuth finished third with seven catches.
But much like their points per game, the big plays shriveled up by year’s end. From Weeks 15-18, the Steelers had just six completions of 20-plus yards, tying the Cleveland Browns for last. Pickens missed some of that time, but that’s when coaches make their money. Arthur Smith couldn’t find the right scheme to replace his talent.
2024 Goal: Passing TDs – Do In One Year What They’ve Done The Past Two
2024 Outcome: 21 Passing Touchdowns
The goal was to combine their 2022 and 2023 passing scores into one year, meaning 25 of them in 2024. Pittsburgh finished shy of the mark. The offense went ultra-conservative under Justin Fields, who used his legs to find the end zone as often as he did with his arm, five apiece.
With six touchdowns in his first three starts, Russell Wilson looked poised to get the offense the rest of the way there. But the running theme here is an icy finish, and Wilson had just one multi-touchdown game over his final four regular season outings.
Although 2024’s numbers were more respectable, Pittsburgh still barely averaged more than one passing score per game. There’s more work to do.
Final Evaluation
Of our six goals, Arthur Smith passed in two of them: points per game and big-play completions. He failed the other four: first-quarter success, first-drive success, red-zone efficiency, and passing touchdowns.
Knowing the points per game and big-play completions disappeared by year’s end, and there’s plenty of work for Smith and the Steelers’ offense to do in Year Two.
