The Pittsburgh Steelers 2023 campaign has been full of ups and downs. They opened the year with an embarrassing 30-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers and they also got blown out by the Houston Texans by a score of 30-6. Despite these two horrific games, Pittsburgh is still 3-2 and was in first place in the AFC North heading into Week 6 despite having one of the worst offenses in the NFL.
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The Pittsburgh Steelers QB Kenny Pickett has been held back by Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada in his young career already
Steelers Laughed At By Kurt Benkert
Kurt Benkert is a former NFL quarterback who went undrafted in 2018 before being signed as by the Atlanta Falcons. He has also spent some time with the Green Bay Packers, San Francisco, and in the XFL with the San Antonio Brahmas, who are coached by Hines Ward. His time as a professional football player has been spent as a back up quarterback, but he got to learn from one of the best in Aaron Rodgers during his time with the Packers.
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Steelers criticized by former NFL quarterback Kurt Benkert
Since his playing day,s he has become a prominent NFL figure on social media. He often evaluates film on all platforms and uploads videos of himself playing Madden and explaining the different coverages and route concepts. He will go live and interact with his chat about everything going on in the football world. During Week 5 when the Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens, Benkert was live and interacting with his chat when one of his followers pointed out that the Steelers were playing badly that day.
"Someone in the chat said Pittsburgh is so bad today. Today? Brother. You been watching ball this year? Today? Pittsburgh hasn't shown up all year."
It's hard to get mad at Benkert for his quick analysis of the Steelers so far in 2023. He isn't wrong. The offense has been nonexistent, the starting cornerbacks have been shaky at best aside from a few splash plays, and the offensive line has been playing towards the bottom of the league. The Steelers defense has been carrying the offense so far in 2022 and have made many highlight plays, however, they currently rank 30th in total yards given up, 26th in rushing yards per attempt, and 19th in net yards per pass attempt.
So, Benkert is correct, the Steelers really haven't shown up all year aside from a few plays that would help lead to them winning them games. They only were able to escape Las Vegas with a win because Josh McDaniels made a poor coaching decision that wound up losing the Las Vegas Raiders the game. Against Cleveland, the Steelers were saved because of two defensive touchdowns, and against the Ravens they had a blocked punt and an interception down the stretch to win the game.
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The Pittsburgh Steelers Edge Rusher TJ Watt was fined by the NFL after their Week 5 victory over the Baltimore Ravens
The point being, the Steelers have yet to play a complete game of football and have success on both sides of the ball. The offense has struggled to move the ball at certain points in all five of their games so far in 2023, and the defense has given up good amounts of yardage in all games as well. Now that the Steelers are in their bye week, the team needs to figure out what they need to improve on and make necessary changes.
Some changes have already been made, as Broderick Jones had a good performance in his first start in relief of an injured Dan Moore Jr. Now it seems Jones could be the starter for the foreseeable future. The Steelers haven't committed to Joey Porter Jr. being a starter, but he is expected to be receiving more playing time. Star receiver Diontae Johnson is expected to be back from injury after the bye week. In addition to that, hopefully the offense continues to improve and the offensive line finds a way to be better in protection and in the run game for the rest of the season.
What do you think of Benkert's comments? Let us know in the comments below!
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