The Steelers’ offense started off hot in the red zone, when it got there, but things have cooled off recently. After starting the season 7-for-8 from inside the 20-yard line, the offense fell off hard in Dublin. I don’t know if one too many Guinnesses were imbibed, but the Irish air did not treat them well. And that absolutely cannot continue on the other side of the bye week, unless one other theme continues to shift.
Early on, the Steelers capitalized on their red-zone opportunities on offense, but they just didn’t have enough of them. In Week 1 and Week 3, they went 3-for-3 scoring in the red zone. They went 1-2 in Week 2, the only miss being because of an error by Calvin Austin III.
But the Steelers reached the red zone five times against the Vikings last week. They only scored two touchdowns out of those five trips. Even worse, they only came away with points, period, on three of those trips. One blocked field goal and a turnover on downs later, this game ended up closer than necessary. Even if you add six points for two field goals they could have scored, this was an easy, multi-score win.
Things started well enough. After the offense had an unsuccessful opening drive, the Steelers turned things on. They had little difficulty moving the ball on a nine-play, 71-yard touchdown drive, punctuated by a one-yard touchdown run by Kenneth Gainwell. Unfortunately, that was as easy as it was going to get in the red zone. Good thing DK Metcalf stayed on his feet at the end of his 80-yard run, and inbounds, too.
The next time the Steelers reached the red zone came near the end of the first half, the offense stalling after a sack at the 10-yard line. On first down from the 15, Aaron Rodgers connected with Darnell Washington for five yards. But after the sack, facing 3rd and 15, he checked down to Gainwell for eight. On a 30-yard field goal attempt, Pat Freiermuth lost contain on the end, resulting in a block.
Late in the third quarter, a T.J. Watt interception gave the Steelers possession at the Vikings’ 35. It took two plays to get into the red zone, and three more to get into the end zone. Once again, they looked good here, riding the running game. Gainwell carried four straight times for 27 yards, taking advantage of the quick-change opportunity.
And that was the last time the Steelers had success in the red zone, on offense or defense. Or much success, anyway. A field goal salvaged their fourth trip, already up 21-6 at that point. They tried to feed Kaleb Johnson as they did Gainwell the previous drive, but less successfully. He had success his first two carries, but his next two totaled four yards. On 3rd and 6 from the 15, Rodgers fired incomplete to Scotty Miller.
And you know about the last trip the Steelers offense had in the red zone. HC Mike Tomlin changed his mind about kicking a field goal, deciding to go for it on 4th and goal from the 3. For some reason, he chose a carry off left guard with Gainwell, who was stopped short of the end zone. While many questioned the play call, Gainwell did perform well on his previous red-zone carries, as you can see above.
The only thing that saved the Steelers in the red zone on offense was volume. If they can manage to make five-plus trips inside the red zone every game, then it’s okay to only convert on two or three. But with two of those being set up by the defense—one on a turnover, another on a short field due to forcing the Vikings to punt from deep—that doesn’t feel like a sure bet.
