PITTSBURGH — The Steelers offense has to figure something out in the bye week. Kenny Pickett noted that changes were likely coming over the break. In far more general terms, Offensive coordinator Matt Canada agreed with the sentiment that things would change, though he would not divulge specifics on that front. But it will happen, which means the Steelers will embrace new concepts and see what is working.
“Well, I was going to look at the things that we have not done well enough and figure out if it’s schematically done if we’re asking players to do things they can’t if it’s more details with the players,” Canada said. “I think everything on the table is what you do with anybody, whether good or bad. So, no big change there with that.”
However, from a macro point of view, the Steelers have a severe issue on early downs. The team has one of the worst three-and-out percentages in the NFL, but a lot of that is not because of what they do on third downs. It’s due to the obvious negative plays they have on early downs. Rarely does the team move the chains early in the series of downs. No matter which team you are, it’s hard to win in the NFL when you are playing so much on those weighty downs. The efficiency of the Steelers on early downs, specifically when running the football, is not good enough. It seems like one negative play occurs, and then Pittsburgh has their entire drive stalled. Canada knows that can not continue to happen.
“Everything. You know, everything. We’ve got to get better at staying on the field, first and second down needs to be better so third downs are not as imperative. We’ve had too many third downs. Obviously, it’s a multitude of different things we’ve got to be better at,” Canada said.
The Steelers are tied for the fourth most third downs in the NFL through five games. But it should be noted that the team does have the highest three-and-out percentage on drives in the NFL. That speaks to how much of a slog it is to get the Steelers’ offense going. First and second down are far more critical to Pittsburgh than their 37 percent conversion percentage on third down.
For example, the team averages 4.3 yards per play on first down. That’s 30th in the NFL. It’s not good enough if the offense wants to establish a rhythm and get going on offense. The solutions to those issues lie within getting the negative plays out of the run game. That’s what the team did so well down the stretch last year when they finished the season 7-2 in their final nine games. A similar epiphany must occur in the second half of this season.