What Changes Led to Steelers Run Game Improvement? (+)
The Pittsburgh Steelers offense has faced a ton of albeit deserved criticism so far through the first half of the 2023 campaign. Similar to what we saw last year, Pittsburgh has taken a while to discover what they truly want to be on the offensive side of the football. In the offseason, they seemingly made a plethora of moves that would solidify this unit as a force to be reckoned with on the ground. After starting the season incredibly slow in that regard, near the bottom of the league in nearly every category that mattered, they’ve not only shown flashes of competence, they’ve shown a hint of dominance.
Since the Steelers returned from their bye week, their run game ranks fourth in both rushing EPA/play and rushing success rate. So, what changed? If you asked ten people, you’d probably get ten different answers with some obvious carryover in between. After all, you don’t go from miserably terrible to pretty good with just one tweak. It’s never that simple especially when you’re dealing with a team sport that relies on 11 individuals working in unison towards a common goal.
Here are some of the changes that have helped foster a positive change on offense, giving this team an identity to rely on.