Odds: Could Steelers Have NFL’s Worst Offense in 2022?

The Pittsburgh Steelers will have the least-expensive offense in the NFL, but could it also be the worst? According to odds posted this week by Caesars Sportsbook, it could be. According to Caesars, the Steelers have 10-1 odds to be the NFL’s lowest-scoring team in 2022, the sixth-shortest odds listed.

The Houston Texans (5-1), Atlanta Falcons (6-1), Chicago Bears (7-1), Seattle Seahawks (8-1) and Carolina Panthers (9-1) join the Steelers among the six teams most likely to take it easy on scoreboard operators this season.

All six teams are linked by uncertainty at the quarterback position, with Houston and Chicago starting unproven second-year arms and the other four seeming still undecided on who their starter will be. The Falcons missed out on getting Deshaun Watson from the Texans, while the Panthers and Seahawks are vying to acquire Baker Mayfield from Cleveland. 

The Jacksonville Jaguars were the NFL’s lowest-scoring team in 2021 with 253 points, but are 18-1 to repeat as the worst offense. The New York Giants were 31st in scoring with 258 points and are also expected to improve. Quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence and Daniel Jones are both expected to return in 2022, showing the importance of consistency at the game’s most important position in the eyes of the oddsmakers.

The Steelers had the best 2021 season of the offenses singled out by Ceasars, scoring 343 points and finishing 21st in the league in scoring. That unit, however, has lost starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster, Ray-Ray McCloud and James Washington.

The last time the Steelers finished near the bottom in scoring was in 2019, when without Roethlisberger, Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges led the Steelers to 289 points, sixth-worst in the NFL.

Whether the team actually ends up near the bottom of the pack in offense will largely depend on whether the combination of Rudolph, Mitch Trubisky and Kenny Pickett and offensive coordinator Matt Canada can do a better job of replacing Roethlisberger than what the Steelers managed in 2019.