Steelers' Mediocre Offensive Play Not On Justin Fields: "They Cannot Beat Man Coverage"

The Pittsburgh Steelers fell to the Dallas Cowboys 20-17 in a heartbreaking and frustrating loss Sunday night after the Cowboys scored a last minute touchdown to give them the lead late into the fourth quarter. The game was tight throughout the night, each side of the ball seeing offensive struggles and defense making plays. There was a lot of chatter this week about what Justin Fields had to do to secure the QB1 job with Russell Wilson getting closer each week to being healthy. 

A lot of fans said they wanted to see a win Sunday night against the Cowboys. Not only did the Steelers lose, but the offense looked stagnant and unimaginative with the play-calling. Now, some are questioning what the true problem of this offense is.

On ESPN's morning show Get Up, Dan Orlovsky commented on the Steelers' 226 yard offensive game. Meanwhile, the Cowboys had 445 yards of offense.

Orlovsky went on to say the Steelers shouldn't be immediately going to Wilson after one mediocre game from Fields. There are bigger problems and that comes down to the wide receiver room. The rushing game hasn't been there either, with Najee Harris only rushing for 42 yards on 14 carries. Fellow running backs Jaylen Warren and Cordarrelle Patterson are injured, so you can't put the blame on the rushing game just yet as these two guys had some explosive plays before their injuries. Orlovsky said Pittsburgh's receivers can't beat man coverage and the only one that can is George Pickens. Pickens can't get the ball thrown to him every play and there's certainly no help around him.

"There's no one getting open that much for this offense. George Pickens is unbelievably talented, but he's not winning that much and they're certainly not getting him the football enough early on in the football games."

Fields threw 27 times Sunday night and only completed 15 of his attempts. The leading receiver was Harris with two catches for 35 yards. Van Jefferson followed behind with three catches for 26 yards. Every other receiver had 26 yards or less. Looking at the box score, the stats on offense are not something you want to see. The playmakers aren't there on the roster to get the job done and a change at quarterback isn't going to fix that.

Pickens had a quiet night as well, where the deep shots to him down the sideline weren't seen as much as other weeks. Head Coach Mike Tomlin addressed Pickens' low playing time, but in a big primetime game, you need your star player out there. Pat Freiermuth was only targeted three times and one was when backup quarterback Kyle Allen came in and threw a 19-yard pass to Freiermuth when Fields had to go out for a play. The Steelers need to change something on the offensive side first before their 3-2 record becomes worse.

Steelers Need Another Wide Receiver Before The Trade Deadline

Another season, another outcry from fans to do something on the offensive side of the ball. Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith has called conservative, subpar games so far, especially during the Cowboys matchup. However, another man needs to step in to help out and that's Omar Khan. He needs to be aggressive before the trade deadline and go after another playmaker.

Pickens can't do all the work and no other receiver is stepping up consistently enough, or showing themselves as a true wide receiver two (WR2). Although Davante Adams is the hottest new commodity in the trade market, there's no guarantee that the Steelers will pull the trigger on him. There are plenty of guys cheaper than Adams that could help out the offense and play alongside Pickens, but time will tell which way Khan and the Steelers go.

What do you think is the Steelers' offensive problem? Let us know in the comments!

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