The Pittsburgh Steelers offense has not been great under Matt Canada. It certainly was not great against the New Orleans Saints defense at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday afternoon, but it was a whole lot better against one of the NFL’s best defenses than anyone could have reasonably expected. Virtually everything the fans had been demanding to change, was at least attempted on Sunday afternoon and the Pittsburgh second half of the season got off to a fine start offensively as the Steelers beat the Saints, 20-10. For the first time in a long time, the score is deceiving, it wasn't that close.
Karl Roser/Pittsburgh Steelers
Kenny Pickett was not particularly sharp in the passing game, but unlike his last four starts, threw the ball over the middle of the field by design, or by decision, and made consistently good choices with targets. He used his legs effectively rushing for over 50 yards and a touchdown and more importantly, he avoided the big mistakes and let the game come to him. The rookie led multiple scoring drives and if Chris Boswell plays in this game, Pittsburgh would have scored the most points they have scored in 2022.
Abigail Dean / Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh offensive coordinator deserves credit for adjusting at least the design of plays that Pickett was looking at when reading the field. The sideline routes were still prevalent, but the Steelers found Pat Freiermuth and George Pickens consistently in the middle of the field. The small change didn’t lead to touchdowns, but it did lead to multiple first downs for Pittsburgh, and it allowed them to possess the ball and make sure the defense was not left on the field for extended periods of time.
Abigail Dean / Pittsburgh Steelers
The black and gold also rediscovered a commitment to the running game. Najee Harris received a message from virtually all of Steeler Nation that he is not the second coming of Barry Sanders and for the first time this season looked like the first-string tailback that the Steelers thought they were getting. Jaylen Warren also played effectively and with very few exceptions, the Steelers running backs ran physically and it was a major difference.
Whether it was Mike Tomlin or Canada, someone delivered a message to Harris that split carries were going to happen and if he wanted to be a part of the solution, he would have to adjust his running style. Harris to his credit did adjust his style and ran the ball with a nasty attitude all game. The Steelers rushed for over 200 yards, and it was not jet sweep trickery. It was old fashioned Pittsburgh Steelers smash mouth running between the tackles.
Karl Roser / PIttsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh offense still has problems, notably Kevin Dotson was horrible today and aside from missing several key blocks, gave up a devastating sack on the first missed field goal by Matthew Wright in the second half. It didn’t push the Steelers into unrealistic field goal range, but it was an especially hard hit on Pickett. The rookie has endured several big shots during his short career, and they cannot continue to happen.
The Steelers were a hard luck 2-6 team in the first half and could easily have won 4 games, but they did not. They needed this victory, and they got it by winning 20-10 and it was an overall team effort. The 20 points should have been 23-26 and if this offense can replicate that performance on a weekly basis, the black and gold could make a serious run in the second half of the season.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
The offense isn’t great, but if the black and gold continue to build on this performance, Canada’s group could be good. With T.J. Watt leading a defense that was missing Minkah Fitzpatrick today, that just might be enough.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Were you encouraged by the changes in the Pittsburgh offense? Please comment below, or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
