The Steelers Offense Has One Obvious Tell

The Steelers’ offense is reaching an apex for their struggles. Even after firing Matt Canada, the group continues to fall flat. That has led the team to somehow getting worse on that side of the ball, but it all comes down to struggles with play calling and quarterback play. That’s the crux of the issue, though there is certainly more to bring into question.

Interim offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner and play-caller Mike Sullivan sold a vision of a detail-oriented offense that could keep Pittsburgh afloat, move the ball down the field, and score at an average rate. Since then? Things have gone downhill. Some of that is likely related to Kenny Pickett’s ankle injury. Pickett did not look that shabby against the Cardinals before his injury. But since his exit, the offense has fallen off a cliff with Mitch Trubisky at the helm. Turnovers and an alarming lack of details, sometimes the same things as the week before, crop up as patterns.

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

However, so do the same obvious tells that plagued the Canada offense. But one is more egregious than anything else. If you will have a tell, then two things need to happen. Either way does not matter because you, as a unit, can execute it at a high level. Or something drastic needs to change.

The obvious tell for Pittsburgh is receiver Miles Boykin. Boykin, a standout special teams player, is maybe the best blocker in their entire receiving room. As such, they bring him on to help in run situations. But they are neither successful enough nor do they make Boykin a threat in the passing game to make anyone worry about him. I get it, Boykin is the fifth-best receiver on the team, but he is athletic and tall. There are ways to scheme a guy like that into the plan just to throw teams off a bit. Of the eight snaps he played on Thursday, seven of the plays were runs with Boykin in the game.

You can see it, too. The moment that Boykin enters the game, teams creep up. They siphon in an extra player into the box, and more often than not, that player comes running free. It’s just bad schematics when the tell is that obvious, and the alignments do not even switch often. Boykin has his place in the offense, I get it. But bringing him on and making him a tell is not the way to go about it.