As if the difference wasn’t evident enough in last Thursday’s loss, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense is finding its stride. The defense is crashing back to Earth. Arthur Smith’s unit is nearly top-ten in scoring through six games and seven weeks. The defensive grouping led by Mike Tomlin and Teryl Austin ranks 19th and is fading after getting carved up by QB Joe Flacco.
New data highlights the disparity. Per Steven Patton’s model, which quantifies play calling and goes beyond surface-level data, Smith ranks as the fourth-best play caller. Defensively, Austin ranks 30th.
Below are his most recent charts. Normally, I would just embed his tweets, which you can find here, but I wasn’t able to do so separately and cleanly. To make it easier to read, here are the standalone images.
Offensively, Smith only trails three notable names: the Seattle Seahawks’ Klint Kubiak, the Indianapolis Colts’ Shane Steichen, and the New England Patriots’ Josh McDaniels. Smith ranks above the likes of the Green Bay Packers’ and Week 8 opponent Matt LaFleur, the Buffalo Bills’ Joe Brady, and the Kansas City Chiefs’ Andy Reid.
Defensively, Austin is nearly in the basement. He’s only ahead of the Tennessee Titans’ Dennard Wilson and the Miami Dolphins’ Anthony Weaver. Two teams set to clean house this offseason.
While Patton only names Austin, Tomlin’s influence on the defense is obvious, and he should be included on the chart, if not take Austin’s place on it entirely.
Part of the low ranking stems from Pittsburgh’s investment in its defense. A team with plenty of cap, cash, and high draft picks intended to make it one of the NFL’s best. Instead, the group has been hot-and-cold and coming off a terrible showing against the Bengals.
Smith has done more with less and progressed in key areas we identified this offseason. Pittsburgh’s red zone offense is among the top five, while its third-and-short offense is No. 1 in the NFL entering Week 7.
The fallout could mean coordinator changes this offseason. If these streaks continue, Pittsburgh could move on from Austin in January. While they’d like to keep Smith, the NFL is surely noticing the bang-up job he’s done. Those with head coaching vacancies, like the Tennessee Titans, will come calling once the new cycle begins after the season.
