Can the Pittsburgh Steelers offense re-establish some balance this season?
Back in 2014, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and New Orleans Saints’ signal-caller Drew Brees tied for the NFL lead with 4,952 yards through the air. But Mike Tomlin’s team was surprised at home by the rival Baltimore Ravens, 30-17, in the AFC Wild Card Playoffs.
Four years later, “Big Ben” led the league with 5,129 passing yards. But the Steelers dropped four of their last six games after a 7-2-1 start and missed the playoffs. See a pattern?
Relying on the passing game doesn’t necessarily lead to success in pro football. Balance is the key to success as a team. That philosophy combined with a respectable defense has led to more than a few Lombardi Trophies. It may not be a well-known fact but no player had led the NFL in passing yards and won the Super Bowl in the same season. And there’s now 54 years of evidence to substantiate that.
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The past two years, Pittsburgh’s ground attack has been somewhat of an afterthought. Only the Arizona Cardinals gained fewer yards on the ground in 2018. This past year was an offensive disaster with Roethlisberger going down after six quarters and both Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges having their issues. Add in James Conner missing some time and the Steelers ranked 29th in the league in rushing yards per game.
May have pointed the finger at offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner for the lack of balance. Some blame Conner, who has had his issues with health. This past season, one of the best offensive lines in the league didn’t play like it on a consistent basis.
As for Fichtner, keep in mind that the team has a new quarterback coach in Matt Canada and via Chris Adamski of TribLive.com, he could have some say in the team’s attack in 2020.
Of course, with Roethlisberger healthy again and already throwing the ball, there’s a lot of anticipation when it comes to what the team could do through the air.
With a pass-catching corps that includes Juju Smith-Schuster, second-year pro Diontae Johnson, emerging James Washington, tight end Vance McDonald as well as newcomers Chase Claypool (2-Notre Dame) and free-agent tight end Eric Ebron (Colts), there’s already an air of excitement in the Steel City for this and other reasons (via Chris Adamski of TribLive.com).
Still, it won’t add up to much in terms of team success if the Pittsburgh Steelers can’t find a way to keep opposing defenses on their toes. That means establishing a ground attack that will help the play-action passing game. And running the football will keep last year’s fifth-ranked defense (which could be more consistent vs. the run) a little fresher. Yes, Ben Roethlisberger is back. But will the Steelers’ playoff chances return as well?