The Pittsburgh Steelers offense has been trending upwards since the bye week, mainly on the backs of an improved rushing attack with Najee Harris coming into form after a sluggish start. Though the arrow has been pointing upwards with the team clocking a 6-2 record since the week off, getting the ball in the endzone with consistency is still a struggle.
Steelers' Kenny Pickett (#8) hands off the ball to Najee Harris (#22) in Baltimore, MD. | Credit: Karl Roser/Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh ranks 21st in red zone touchdown percentage per TeamRankings.com and despite pulling off some tight wins to keep their playoff hopes from totally disappearing, the lack of scoring remains a glaring red flag. Offensive coordinator, Matt Canada addressed the issue when speaking to the media on Thursday in advance of the upcoming AFC North rivalry re-match against the Cleveland Browns:
"We've got to score more. We can't go down there and not get touchdowns. There's no magic," the offensive play-caller said via Jeff Hathhorn of 93.7 the Fan. "We certainly can't stop ourselves and we've seen ourselves do that more than a couple of times. Self-inflicted wounds."
Steelers Second Half Improvements
Rookie quarterback, Kenny Pickett has rightfully gotten a lot of credit for the positive steps in his development, especially in the last two weeks engineering last-minute, game-winning drives against the Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens.
QB Kenny Pickett is the first rookie in NFL history to have a game-winning TD pass in the final minute in back-to-back games. pic.twitter.com/HrE2FDMwj2
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) January 5, 2023
Canada was quick to point out the improved rushing and third-down efficiency in the second half of the season and gave some praise to the first-year signal-caller for the step up on third downs, but made sure to recognize some of the other factors at play as well:
"The quarterback gets all the credit and all the blame, he deserves a lot of the credit," he said. "Why are we so much better on third down? Missed assignments are down, protection is up, we're running the ball better, which has kept us in more manageable third downs."
The other big improvement for the offense and specifically, the former University of Pittsburgh quarterback has cut down on turnovers. Pickett has thrown a single pick since Week 8 and the offense has three other turnovers, all Mitch Trubisky interceptions, after gifting opponents with possession 14 times in the first eight weeks:
"It starts with taking care of the football and he's done a great job of that since the bye," Canada said.
Pittsburgh's offense has made some big adjustments that have helped to propel them back into the playoff picture with one game left to go. Scoring points remains a big issue, but perhaps the formula of controlling possession and trusting the league's highest-paid defense to make stops will be enough to squeak into the postseason.
So, Steeler Nation, what do you think the team needs to do to fix the scoring woes? Let us know in the comments below, or on social media.
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