The Pittsburgh Steelers have struggled to field a competitive offense over the last few years. This season, they made significant changes on that side of the ball to try to give them a spark. That included adding Aaron Rodgers and DK Metcalf. While the Steelers’ offense has experienced ups and downs to start this season, in Week 4, that unit put together a solid game. Despite that, former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner still thinks it could be better.
“I still feel like their offense has a way to go,” Warner said Wednesday on the Rich Eisen Show. “They had the big play to DK, that 80-yard touchdown, but that was actually on a busted coverage by Minnesota. No fault of the Steelers, you take advantage of mistakes that defenses make. But outside of that, it was still a lot of the short, dink and dunk-type stuff.
“Can they live in that world if their defense is taking the football away and doing the things that they do? Yeah, they can, but I still believe that this offense is going to have to take a big jump in either being able to run the football better or developing more of a passing game to really be a threat in the AFC. They’ve still got room to grow on offense.”
That’s not an. unfair critique from Warner. Despite their success in Week 4, the Steelers’ offense is still ranked 29th. That’s far from good enough. If they want to compete against the AFC’s best, their offense will need to be better.
However, the Steelers showed signs for optimism against the Minnesota Vikings. In Week 3, the Vikings’ defense had a great day, looking like one of the best units in the league. The Steelers’ offense looked like it was going to be in for a long day.
Things turned out better than expected for Pittsburgh, though. The Steelers had their best day running the football yet, with Kenneth Gainwell leading the way with 99 yards. Their passing attack was efficient, too. Rodgers threw for 200 yards and one touchdown, and Metcalf had his best day as a Steeler yet, catching five passes for 126 yards and one touchdown.
One good game doesn’t mean that the Steelers’ offense is fixed, though. They’ve got to show some consistency on that side of the ball. In their other three games, their offense was more disjointed. Rodgers showed some promise throwing the ball, but the Steelers’ offense lacked balance.
Coming out of their bye week, the Steelers’ offense will have a nice chance to prove itself. They’re set to face the Cleveland Browns, who currently have the No. 1 defense in the league. We’ll see if the Steelers can put in another solid offensive performance. Even if they don’t, that’s no reason to panic. It’s a long season, and they’ve showed that they have the potential to be reliable.
