Steelers Offensive Coaching Staff Calls Confusing Game Plan

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Steelers offense got some things going as the game went on. Still, at the beginning of the game, they looked as lifeless as they have all season under the guidance of either Matt Canada or interim offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner and play caller Mike Sullivan. But it’s not a theme that is too foreign to the group.

Something that came out of the locker room stood out to me in this vein. Buffalo was a team that played mostly two-high shells with some two-man, quarters and cover six before this game. But Pittsburgh noticed to start the game they were living in one-high and never came out of it, rolling the extra defender down to slow down Pittsburgh’s run game and force Mason Rudolph to complete the ball and beat them.

“They’re typically, and we thought they would be more 22-man and more two-high, but first play, they came out in one-high, and them throughout the game, even when they were up.,” running back Najee Harris said. “They were still playing one-high. I was going to Coach T asking if they were still in it. I came into half and they were still in one-high. But you can see that, they’re agenda to stop the run. That’s what I’ve been saying all year. That’s what they did.”

Rudolph acknowledged they could have backed off the Bills more by completing some passes outside the numbers. But Harris acknowledges the team’s mentality was to keep pounding the ball into the front anyways. That’s what they had to do with their identity and game plan, but nothing worked until they started hitting play-action passes and backing them off. There was no counter punch to the one-high stuff.

“Eh, run it anyway? That’s Mike T says and we walk around saying run it anyway because we know that what’s coming down in that box,” Harris said. “You know, this isn’t the first time teams have done that. Sometimes we do good, but sometimes we have to build off those plays.”

Harris then abruptly ended the answer and gave a mystified look that told me he was over it. I don’t blame him. The team’s in-game adjustments took a while, and play that point, they were already down in the hole. The coaches have to anticipate that, but Sean McDermott caught the Steelers in a bind. And they didn’t have the punch needed. The idea to ‘just run it’ is not good enough. They are not a high-enough level running team to have that arrogance against a team like the Bills. But that’s knowing your personnel, and the new offensive coordinator has to make that change — badly.