Flavell's Five Thoughts: Steelers New Problem on Offense
For the second straight week, the Pittsburgh Steelers moved the ball offensively in the first half just to see their offense stalled in the second half but pick up their first pair of consecutive wins all season. Pittsburgh outlasted the Atlanta Falcons in Week 13 by a count of 19-16.
It wasn’t pretty, but the Steelers are now 5-7 and sit tied with the Cleveland Browns for third place in the AFC North. The division-leading Baltimore Ravens are on tap but could potentially be without Lamar Jackson in that contest.
Despite the ugly win, there is still some content to pull from it so let’s discuss it, shall we yinz?
Run Game, Offensive Line Impress Yet Again
Watching Najee Harris run with a purpose and hit holes without hesitation has been fun to watch since the Steelers emerged from their bye week. Harris added 86 yards and 17 carries to his season totals today and now has 310 yards across his last four games, an average of 77.5 in that span.
It isn’t just Harris pitching in either.
Benny Snell, with 24 rushing yards of his own, has earned himself some extra reps with his play last week when he filled in for the injured Jaylen Warren. Warren didn’t factor into the stat sheet a ton but saw a considerable amount of work in pass protection. The running-back-by-committee approach is helping keep the entire room fresher as the game wears on.
The much-maligned offensive line group has continued to grow all season. The starting five have been healthy all season and have grown immensely from training camp. Allowing a young line to gel is a smart move and one the Steelers have made their detractors, including myself, look stupid for calling out against.
This has made Kenny Pickett’s life easier as well allowing him to not have to throw 35-40+ times a game and his turnovers have come down as well.
Problems in the Wide Receiver Room?
Watching the Steelers' usage of George Pickens from week to week makes you question why Matt Canada still has a coordinator job. One week, he’ll be the focal point of the passing game, and his talents won’t go wasted. In other weeks, such as this one, he’s targeted twice and catches a single pass for two yards.
Pickens showed his frustration in Atlanta following an incompletion to Diontae Johnson by screaming at anyone who would listen to “throw him the (expletive) ball”.
Johnson had a key drop on a third down play but also had 60 yards on five catches. He wasn’t great, but he made enough plays to help Pickett and the offense win the game. Connor Heyward, the “swiss-army knife” as Mike Tomlin appropriately labeled him on draft night, caught the Steelers’ lone touchdown.
Pickens has an argument that the Steelers don’t throw him the ball enough. Whether that’s by design of the coaching staff or Pickett’s inability to find him open is up for debate. Regardless, he’s got to be fed more.
However, to see him pouting on the sidelines and throwing tantrums like he did Sunday afternoon isn’t ideal either. It’s quite concerning actually and shows that he could eventually become a locker room problem, something that had been quietly talked about before the draft.
Johnson has struggled this season, and there is no hiding that. Pickens feels that Johnson’s loss should be his gain so hopefully, there’s no animosity going on there that will affect their play.
Both things can be true that Pickens should be given more targets but also needs to not publicly blow up like that for everyone to see.
Another Tale of Two Halves for Pickett
Last week, Pickett put together arguably his best half of football in the first half against the Colts. The second half was ugly, but they got the job done against a bad team.
This week, Pickett posted 143 yards at the half and led the Steelers on multiple clock-eating drives that resulted in some sort of points. He ended up adding just 55 passing yards in the second half but did enough with the running game to pull out the win.
Pickett again made some really good throws like the dart to Steven Sims that ended up being overturned. The throw was in the perfect spot but Sims couldn’t hang on. His throw to Heyward on the touchdown was a pretty over-the-shoulder throw that Heyward got to in stride.
Pickett also made the occasional throw that he’d like to have back like the open seam route throw to Pat Freiermuth that would’ve been a touchdown if the throw was there. There was also the play in the end zone to Johnson that was slightly underthrown and didn’t give Johnson much of a chance to get the ball over his defender.
There have been strides made by Pickett from his first game action against the New York Jets. Anyone who can’t see that is likely just a Penn State fan. But he has a ways to go yet before he’s going to be viewed as a legitimate NFL quarterback. I think he can get there, but there are plenty of things he’s got to work on.
Getting help from his star receivers in the form of simply catching passes would help too.
Defense Bent but Didn’t Break Under Pressure
It was clear T.J. Watt wasn’t 100% against the Falcons. His usual explosiveness wasn’t there, and neither were the QB pressures we’ve become accustomed to seeing. The Steelers’ lone sack came on a crucial third down, and Cameron Heyward recorded it.
Fortunately for them, Marcus Mariota isn’t very good whether he’s under pressure or not.
The Steelers only had one turnover, the late interception by Minkah Fitzpatrick, but they didn’t allow too many yards to rack up.
The Falcons are a run-heavy team. Pittsburgh was able to bottle up their running backs from finding the end zone. Cordarelle Patterson and Tyler Allgeier combined for 112 yards on the ground, so they had their fair share of success. But much like the Steelers' offense, the Falcons struggled to punch the ball in once they got to their side of the field.
No one really shined for the Steelers, but they instead took an all-hands-on-deck approach to the victory. Hopefully, Watt can rest up and get ready for next week’s nasty in-division matchup.
It’s Ravens Week…
The Steelers and the Ravens are always the creams of the AFC North crop. The Bengals are improving, and the Browns got Deshaun Watson back so times could be changing.
It doesn’t matter what kind of season the Steelers or the Ravens are having, the games are always hard-fought and nasty close games. Next weekend’s matchup will be no different regardless of Lamar Jackson’s status.
Baltimore comes into the game off a 10-9 win over Denver while the Steelers ride their first winning streak of the season onto their home field at Acrisure Stadium. Baltimore is 8-4 while the Steelers are 5-7. And regardless, none of this will matter come next Sunday at 1 PM when the ball is put into the air and the game begins.
The smash-mouth, in-your-face football will be on display and both teams will be looking to gain another win. A season that once looked like a lost cause for the Steelers could at least get…interesting. While a win for Baltimore could ground Pittsburgh and improve their draft stock once again.
Don’t let the Steelers know that, though. Their sole focus will be sending the Ravens back to Baltimore stinging from losing yet another game to the Steelers, this time to the rookie quarterback that will be introduced to the Ravens rivalry for the first time ever.
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