Locked On: Is Pickett to Freiermuth Key to Unlocking Steelers Offense?

The Pittsburgh Steelers finally got Pat Freiermuth going on Sunday, with the tight end going off for a career high in the Steelers’ 16-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Freiermuth missed a number of games with a hamstring injury this season, but even when he was healthy, he wasn’t nearly as productive as he was on Sunday.

In the five games he played before Sunday, Freiermuth had nine catches on 14 targets for 60 yards. Against the Bengals, he caught nine of 11 targets for 120 yards.

So what changed? Was it because of a new mandate handed down from the new offensive braintrust of Eddie Faulker and Mike Sullivan? Did Kenny Pickett make a change to his game play? Or was it simply a matter of the Cincinnati Bengals being the worst defense in the league against tight ends, as they have been all season?

Alan Saunders joined Chris Carter on the Locked On Steelers Podcast to discuss that, as well as the stars and skulls grades from the team’s Week 12 win over the Bengals. Plus, they discussed what changes were meaningful in the aftermath of the firing of offensive coordinator Matt Canada, and whether the Steelers now appear poised to make a deeper run into the NFL postseason.

RELATED: Film Room: Pat Freiermuth Solving Steelers Problems

Check out the full archive of appearances of Alan Saunders, Nick Farabaugh and the rest of the SN staff on Locked On.