The Pittsburgh Steelers narrowly escaped Week 1 with a victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. It wasn't pretty, but all that matters is that they walked out with a win. Moving forward though, the black and gold can't keep the same recipe for success. The team will heavily rely on its defense throughout, so the recipe for success will be the same in that aspect. With that being said, they can't expect to win games like that. That is, getting five takeaways and still only narrowly escaping with a win.
Pittsburgh Steelers' Mitch Trubisky rolls out of the pocket against the Cincinnati Bengals. (Credit: Abigail Dean/Pittsburgh Steelers)
As a result, the offense must step their game up. It was a learning curve to begin the season, as the Steelers put out a new quarterback and some added pieces on the offensive line. With one game under the belt now, there's no excuses moving forward. Mitch Trubisky showed some promise, including using his mobility to his advantage at times, but he was too inconsistent overall. The team needs better quarterback play from him, or else the chants for rookie Kenny Pickett will begin to take over soon.
Continuing a season-long theme from 2021, the running game got nothing going whatsoever. Najee Harris had nowhere to run all day long before he exited the game with a foot injury. The injury happened after he was hit immediately after taking the hand-off from Trubisky. Harris could have hit the hole a bit quicker in some aspects, but he's received some unfair criticism over the past few days.
Wide receiver, Chase Claypool was actually the team's leading rusher, as he benefited from offensive coordinator, Matt Canada's motion-infused offense. Claypool ended the day with six carries for 36 yards, while Harris racked up just 23 yards on 10 carries. Things may not get any better in Week 2 against the New England Patriots, as Harris' status is up in the air. While he said he'll be good to go, the Steelers may not want to rush him after his Lisfranc injury that he dealt with throughout training camp as well.
Credit: Jordan Schofield/SteelerNation (JSKO_PHOTO Twitter)
The offensive line needs to improve immensely in the run game if the team wants to build a consistent attack on the ground. Their collective pass blocking ended up being pretty good in Week 1, as Trubisky was sacked just once. On another positive note, the offense didn't turn the ball over on Sunday. As mentioned earlier, the defense won't always get that amount of takeaways, but winning the turnover differential will be huge for this team in 2022.
No one can be disappointed with a win, but there's plenty of room for improvement moving forward for this team. That improvement will be needed if they want to make another run at the playoffs, especially in a loaded AFC. While the injury to TJ Watt hurts over the next few weeks, it presents the perfect opportunity for the offense to step up. The opponents aren't too difficult either, so it's well within the range of possibilities.
What do you need to see from the offense in Week 2? What were your thoughts on Mitch Trubisky's performance in Week 1? How do you think Matt Canada did to begin his second season as OC? Share your opinions and thoughts in the comment section below, and be sure to interact with our social media as well!
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