Steelers Offense Missing Crucial Instinct

PITTSBURGH — It hasn’t been the prettiest start to the season for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the team is 2-1 to begin the 2025 season. That statement applies to both sides of the ball, but they’ve managed to start the year in a tie for the AFC North division lead.

After a red-hot opening, the Steelers offense has fallen back down to earth, scoring an average of 19 points per game over the past two contests. Even in their most recent win over the New England Patriots, the offense struggled at multiple points. The biggest takeaway through three weeks is that this group is improving, but they still lack that killer instinct.

Upgraded Protection Plan

One extremely positive trend that the Steelers’ offense has displayed through three weeks is an increased ability to protect their quarterback. Week 1 was a poor attempt at pass protection, with the team surrendering four sacks against the New York Jets. The protection was slightly better in Week 2, with the team allowing one fewer against the Seattle Seahawks.

The offensive line took a larger step in Week 3 against the Patriots. They kept starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ pocket clean for long stretches of the game, and the cherry on top was not allowing a single sack against the NFL’s sack leader through two weeks.

Football player lifts teammate after touchdow — Sep 21, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Broderick Jones (77) and Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kenneth Gainwell (14) celebrate after a touchdown during the first quarter at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images | Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

Squandered Opportunities

At the same time, the team squandered multiple opportunities to put the Patriots away. The Steelers defense had a comeback performance in New England, forcing five total turnovers during the game. That includes forcing three fumbles over the Patriots’ five second-half possessions.

The problem is that the Steelers’ second-half offense was brutal. Their second-half offensive possessions ended the following ways: interception, punt, punt, punt, touchdown, victory formation. Yes, they put up the winning score in one of those possessions, but they have three consecutive opportunities to put the Pats away and couldn’t do it.

Why this is so troubling for the Steelers is that the defense can’t be expected to do this. Sure, they can be a turnover-dependent defense, but five turnovers in a game is extraordinary. There’s Steelers can’t waste these valuable opportunities to flip the momentum or close out an opponent.

Raising the Ceiling

That killer instinct is what will take this team from back-and-forth to Super Bowl-worthy. They took a step toward that against the Patriots, and that should be acknowledged. But there’s still multiple glaring flaws in this group that must be addressed and corrected in order for this team to reach the level they believe they can. But what their most recent victory demonstrated is that the ceiling the Steelers offense can reach is much higher than the lows of their worst performance.

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