We are a little under two weeks away from the return of Pittsburgh Steelers football and there is a different feeling of excitement heading into a season in which no one really knows what to expect. With a new QB set to be under center for the first time in a long time, Steeler Nation will witness an entirely new offense. As you can probably tell by the title of this article, I am a bit more optimistic heading into the season and I really believe the Steelers have the pieces to put together a top 10 offense in this league. I put together three reasons as to why I believe they'll be top 10 in 2022.
Before I get into the three reasons, I wanted to go over a few key stats from last season in order to give you an idea as to what the top offenses had in common. When looking at total team offense, I generally look at three key stats: yards per game, points per game, and first downs per game. To me, these three stats determine whether or not a team has a top offense in the league. When looking at the top 10 for these three stats, the top five generally consisted of the same teams and they were fairly straightforward: the Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Chargers, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were all amongst the top five in each category. That makes sense given that these are the top offenses in the league and the stats proved it.
The Steelers had a terrible offense last year, there’s no reason to sugarcoat it. They did not perform well and at times, it was really rough to watch. However, looking at the stats, they were not really far off stats-wise from the top 10 in those three categories.
To get into the top 10 in PPG, a team needed to average 25.6 PPG, the Steelers averaged 20.2 PPG. That’s still bad, but not as far off as people may think. As for YPG, they would have needed to reach 363 YPG. The Steelers really struggled with this aspect of the game, so that is something they need to work on. Lastly, to be top 10 in first downs, a team would need 21 FPG. The Steelers were not that far off averaging 19 per game, but still, work needs to be done.
With all that being said, sure the Steelers had a rough season offensively last year, however, it is not as bad as it seems. Having said all this, here are the three reasons as to why I think the Steelers will have a top 10 offense next season:
1. Offensive Weapons
The Steelers have a ton of question marks surrounding their offense, however one thing’s for certain, they have a boatload of weapons on that side of the ball. They got a bona fide WR1 in Diontae Johnson, a top 10 RB in Najee Harris, who just keeps getting better, and a solid receiving core including guys such as Pat Freiermuth and George Pickens, both guys whom I expect to have big seasons next year.
You look at all these weapons and it's hard to think the Steelers can’t have a top 10 offense.
Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images
2. QB Mobility
This is such a huge factor in my opinion. No disrespect towards Ben Roethlisberger, but he just wasn’t mobile and that really hurt the offense last season. With the way the NFL is heading, QB mobility is such an important thing to have in an offense so not having that last season really hurt the offense in a big way. Just look at all the top offenses in the league, they all got QBs who can move in the pocket and make plays with their feet. No matter who the QB is next year, whether it's Kenny Pickett or Mitch Trubisky, both of them have the ability to make plays with their legs and that will go a long way in improving the offense this upcoming season.
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3. Improved Offense Line
Man oh man, was the offensive line bad last year. Ranked amongst the worst in almost every category last season, you can easily say the terrible OL play was the reason the offense was so bad. Whether it was getting no push in the run game or just letting pass rushers get to Roethlisberger at will, it was just a terrible display from the start of the season to the end. This year, however, I am confident the OL will take a step forward.
First of all, it can’t get worse than last season. Second, they added a few solid guys in James Daniels and Mason Cole, both guys who have proven success in the NFL. Adding those two guys along with a more experienced Dan Moore and suddenly the OL seems to be heading in the right direction. Out of the three reasons, this is probably the biggest one. The play of the OL will decide whether this offense takes a step forward next season or a step back.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Do you think the Steelers will have a top 10 offense in 2022? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
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