Steelers Players Reveal Hard Truth about Matt Canada

PITTSBURGH — The Steelers moved on from Matt Canada, hoping they could get a spark on offense. They did get that spark last week, eclipsing over 400 yards for the first time since 2020. however, it did not consistently make the points they wanted to get. But there were changes in the process that made the Steelers players believe that all of it could work under Eddie Faulkner and Mike Sullivan to close out the year.

Sullivan and Faulkner went into great detail about what to expect from the plays. Not only did they explain the why of a play call or tell the guys which call to expect, but they went into specific route depths versus certain leverages, how to play against these coverages, what shoulder the ball should be thrown on, and hammering home the precise details of each play. It was much more than Canada had done during his tenure for Steelers players.

In other words, there was no wondering about the play. The receivers knew how to stem their routes. They knew how to play against certain leverages and calls they would see from the Bengals. All of that got hammered out before they even stepped on a field.

Steelers play caller Mike Sullivan during the Bengals game, Nov. 26, 2023 – Ed Thompson / Steelers Now

“All of those details we’re definitely something they pushed,” Austin said. “They were all about eliminating any uncertainty in a play. That’s what they said in each meeting. Each thing was spelled out and everyone knew their assignment to an exact detail; So, it’s not like guys just came out and were like,’oh, I was thinking this,’ it was like, no, we already spelled out how it should be before we take the field. Everybody was behind that train and that’s why we flowed.”

Faulker punctuated all the details. He showed guys that on Sunday, they can get things going, but not everything is there yet. But at the very least, the morale is high and people believe in his message. That was always the first step for Faulkner and Sullivan after the team moved on from Canada, and it seems that is just what happened.

“We scheduled meetings and did some things a little bit different so we had total clarity on things,” Faulkner said. “That’s really it. It was not much different than that. We really honed in on the details. I’ve got to say man, the offensive staff was incredible.”

Beyond just that, the team took more shots down the field, opened up the middle of the field, and, in general, changed some things up from personnel usage in their 16-10 win.

It was not unintentional. The Steelers came into the game with interim offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner and play-caller Mike Sullivan varied things up. But running back Jaylen Warren gave a straight shot on what the team did to change on Sunday: there was more communication and a less risk-averse offense.

“More communication and more, I don’t know how to say this without being too explicit, but more willingness to take shots. Taking more risks,” Warren said on the difference between the new offense from Matt Canada’s offense.

16 points against the Cincinnati Bengals still don’t translate to many victories against playoff teams. But, the process of the game might translate to wins. The Steelers did an excellent job of putting guys like Pat Freiermuth into better spots to succeed. That allowed the team to open their horizons.