In Week 1, the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t have the kind of game most people expected them to. Many guessed the defense would carry an offense shedding its rust. However, the opposite ended up occurring. The Steelers’ offense powered them to victory, picking up the slack left by their defense. Even more surprising was how much they leaned on their passing game. According to Calvin Austin III, they did that by design.
“I think that was one thing that Coach [Arthur] Smith and [Aaron Rodgers] definitely wanted to do going out, especially first game of the year, sending a message,” Austin said Tuesday on Chalk Talk on 102.5 DVE. “And it’s about we’re gonna be aggressive in both phases, run and pass. When you generally think of us, you would think, ‘They’re gonna try to establish the run and then get to the pass.’
“So, you wanna attack them where they’re not thinking. I’m glad it happened how it happened, to be able to start off attacking through the air, because I feel like it just kept them off balance throughout the entire game and it allowed us to take advantage of some big-time moments.”
The Steelers proved their passing game warrants respect. Aaron Rodgers played great, throwing for 244 yards and tossing four touchdown passes. Austin and DK Metcalf made big plays, too, helping quiet some of the worries about the Steelers’ receiver corps.
In all likelihood, the Steelers probably wouldn’t have thrown the ball as much if their run game hadn’t underperformed. While they proved how dangerous they can be throwing the ball, there are concerns about their ability to run the ball. As a team, they rushed for only 53 yards. Jaylen Warren led the way with 37 yards, but he only averaged 3.4 yards-per-carry.
That’s not good enough. Yes, Rodgers looks like he has some solid football left in him, but he’s 41 years old. The Steelers’ offensive line struggled to protect him. While he’s a future Hall of Famer, the Steelers shouldn’t lean too heavily on him. They could burn him out before the year ends.
The Steelers want to run more play-action, but that’s difficult without a solid run game. The Steelers’ offense answered some questions in Week 1, but they’re far from perfect. They’ve got more to work on. However, if they can find a more balanced attack, they could become real playoff competitors. Rodgers and the receivers did their part. Now, the rest of the offense has to match that.
