Anyone expecting to see a completely different offense for the Steelers to open the 2021 season was probably a little disappointed.
In fact, if anything, the offense Sunday with Matt Canada calling the plays looked very similar to the one they ran in 2020 with Randy Fichtner as offensive coordinator -- lots of short passes to help control the ball.
The difference, however, was in the results. While the Steelers went to Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., and dropped a 26-15 decision to the Bills last December, this time around they came out on the winning end of things, 23-16.
As Mike Tomlin stated after that victory and again at his press conference Tuesday, the Steelers weren't necessarily concerned as much about things looking pretty as they were about simply winning that game against a very good team. They knew an interception that was returned for a touchdown at the end of the first half of that game that helped change the momentum, turning a 7-3 Steelers lead into a 9-7 deficit.
So they played things close to the vest against the Bills this time around, especially with a young offensive line with two rookies making their first career start, including center Kendrick Green.
The expectation, however, is that the Steelers will be able to do a little bit more offensively when they host the Raiders this Sunday at Heinz Field.
Ben Roethlisberger was in the shotgun for 32 of his 34 dropbacks against the Bills and, same as a year ago, was getting rid of the ball quickly, out of his hands in 2.3 seconds. That was the fastest of any quarterback in the NFL in Week 1. His yards per attempt was just 5.9 yards, though it was certainly a small sample size. Last season it was 6.3 yards.
But Roethlisberger did spent more time under center -- 35 percent -- than he did in 2020 at just 17 percent. So, there were some adjustments.
One thing Roethlisberger did like was the way his young wide receivers competed in the game.
While the Steelers had just 54 yards of offense at the half, with JuJu Smith-Schuster (three catches), Diontae Johnson (two) and Chase Claypool (none) struggling to gain footing, Roethlisberger liked the way the team responded in the second half.
"Early in the game, those guys all want stats, they all want numbers. It’s what every receiver wants," Roethlisberger said. "It wasn’t happening for anybody. We weren’t doing it on offense. At the end of the game, we come back in for that last drive, and a lot of people anticipated us running the ball and eating clock. We came out and threw the ball. If any of those guys would have been pouting or shut it down because they were disappointed they weren’t getting the ball, we wouldn’t have been successful on that drive.
"Instead, we took the ball down the field and kicked a field goal. And each guy contributed in that drive. To me, that shows the growth and maturity of each guy. Early on it wasn’t going well, but they didn’t let it bother them. They were still there at the end of the game when it mattered the most to make plays. To me, that’s how they’ve grown a lot."
And Roethlisberger trusted his guys to make plays, even when they were matched up with Buffalo's All-Pro cornerback, Tre'Davious White. Roethlisberger threw at White six times, completing three for 46 yards, including this 22-yard completion to Claypool:
That was Claypool, all 6 feet 4, 238 pounds of him, going up over White to make a catch in a one-on-one situation.
"You always respect them. It doesn’t mean you have to fear them," Roethlisberger said of good players such as White. "I like my guys. I’ll take my guys to win matchups. I have to make good throws, which isn’t always the case. But those guys can make me look good on bad throws, too. The way that my guys played against one of the best guys in the league was awesome."
And that might be where the Steelers' offense grows the most this season. Forget about all of the bells and whistles Canada is expected to bring to the offense. It comes down to Roethlisberger trusting his guys. All of the pre-snap motion, window dressing and formations don't change that. He still has to believe his guys will make plays for him.
"I think each guy did something a little extra special in that game," Roethlisberger said. "JuJu was JuJu. He’s tough, he’s reliable. He’s going to do what you ask him to do. He lowers his head and gets the extra yards and shows that physicality. I thought Diontae started the game out really well, got his knee banged pretty bad. I don’t know that the old Diontae would have come back into the game and kept making plays for us. That shows a lot of growth. James Washington, not expecting to come in, and catches a ball pretty early and gets north and gets big yards. And I thought Chase played like a grown man. The plays downfield, it’s either a catch or a penalty. That’s what we preach to him all the time — he should be unstoppable."
And as the team gets more comfortable with its young offensive line and doing things such as running off a silent count, the offensive output should continue to grow.
"We had maybe one time where Kendrick snapped it on one instead of two, but that’s to be expected with all of the stuff going on," Roethlisberger said of the team's use the silent count against the Bills. "It was not a disastrous play. At the end of the day when you don’t turn the ball over and you limit pre-snap penalties, that’s good."