Insider: Steelers' New Offense "Eerily Similar" To Last Year's Offense With Kenny Pickett

Pittsburgh Steelers fans all over the world have surely felt like they are on a rollercoaster of emotions for the past few years, especially online pokies in Australia. Ben Roethlisberger's retirement after a long and storied career raised concerns over the franchise's future. Would there be one of those slumps while they looked for years for a replacement? Then, they selected Kenny Pickett in the first-round of the 2022 NFL Draft. While not everyone was thrilled with the selection, there was hope for the future. When Pickett was later traded away, the Steelers brought Russell Wilson and Justin Fields in. 

On paper, this felt like a massive win. Wilson's a nine-time Pro Bowler who took the Seattle Seahawks to two Super Bowls. Fields is a highly-touted first-round pick that many people believe was mismanaged by the Chicago Bears. So surely the Steelers and their new Offensive Coordinator, Arthur Smith, can assemble a winning system.

The Steelers managed to pull off back-to-back road wins to start the season against the Atlanta Falcons and Denver Broncos. However, these weren't pretty, and there are concerns about what would happen if the team got down in an upcoming game and had to fight their way out by putting up multiple touchdowns. Would they be able to? 

Steelers insider Mark Kaboly from The Pat McAfee Show doesn't think so. He told Adam Crowley and Dorin Dickerson from the 93.7 The Fan Morning Show that what this offense is doing isn't sustainable. He also said it reminds him of the 2023 offense under Pickett and Matt Canada. 

"You see what this offense has done, what Justin Fields has done these first two weeks, quite eerily similar to the first two weeks last year and what Kenny Pickett did yards-wise, numbers-wise, almost results-wise," said Kaboly. "I would say no, they're going to have to get better. But still from Mike Tomlin, it's better to be 2-0 than 0-2."

Head Coach Mike Tomlin has been accused of handcuffing the offense, and Kaboly said he agrees with this assessment. While Fields might technically be the backup, most expected him to be treated more like a starter, given that the role is not new to him. However, Kaboly said that he feels like Tomlin has treated Fields like a "legit backup." He thinks the priority is the same as it is for backups: just don't lose the game. 

However, in the second half, when the Broncos changed up their defense to slow Fields and the offense down, the Steelers did not also adapt. Kaboly said the Broncos were challenging Fields to throw the ball, and Smith just wasn't calling that kind of play. Even running back Najee Harris expressed concerns that they aren't just being conservative, but rather doing the "same s**t" as last season. 

"I don't think we've learned much of anything we didn't know about Justin Fields than we did four months ago, five months ago when he came in here. They're not putting him in opportunities to win games. They are looking for him not to make that mistake rather than for him to go out there and make plays."

The Steelers will face the Los Angeles Chargers in their home opener, Week 3, and they will likely have to do more than they did the first two weeks to win. If they continue to start Fields, Kaboly believes they have to loosen the leash on him.   

Steelers Have Room To Improve

While it might be true that Tomlin handcuffs Smith and the offense, there is still room for improvement, particularly regarding penalties. After the Week 1 debacle, Tomlin said they needed to clean up the self-inflicted wounds after nine penalties for 60 yards against the Falcons. However, Week 2 was even worse, with 10 penalties for 78 yards against the Broncos.   

It is fair to say that some of the calls were a bit questionable. It is also fair to say that they weren't always calling the game equally, but the penalties still happened. The NFL is clearly going to be calling much tighter games this season, and the Steelers can ill afford to continue to shoot themselves in the foot.

Do you think the offense looks better, worse, or the same as last year? Click to comment below. 

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