It's been a while since the Steelers' offense has had to find its identity with so many new players and coaches in the fold. Even when Randy Fichtner took over in 2018, Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown's connection could carry the offense.
But in 2014, what unlocked the offense under Todd Haley wasn't complex concepts that stretched defenses around, but a simple facet of the offense opened up opportunities and fluidity for the rest of the unit. That was targeting Le'Veon Bell underneath in the passing game.
When Najee Harris scored his first NFL touchdown Sunday against the Raiders, it struck a similar tone to the potential that Bell brought seven years ago.
The current offense currently ranks 28th with 583 total yards, 24th with 40 points scored, 18th with 469 passing yards, 32nd with 114 rushing yards. It's been a mess of problems ranging from Roethlisberger's inconsistency in reading the field, the offensive line needing time to coalesce, and everyone adapting to Matt Canada's offense.
The line is a group with two rookies and five players who are still getting used to each other. That's something that will still take time, but Roethlisberger and the passing offense is the element that could find ways to move the ball while the line builds chemistry.
But the passing game has been sporadic in its success with still no staple to rely upon for big plays or key calls during possession downs outside of targeting JuJu Smith-Schuster or Diontae Johnson on quicker routes. The two of them account for 13 of the Steelers' 23 first downs gained through the air. Smith-Schuster also accounts for three third down conversions, the most of the team.
An easy addition would be including Harris more as an easy target for Roethlisberger on shorter routes. It's what opened up the Steelers' offense in 2014 when Roethlisberger was struggling to find consistency in Haley's offense. In Haley's first two seasons as coordinator in 2012-2013, the Steelers' offense ranked 22nd and 16th in scoring along with 21st and 20th in yardage.
But in 2014, the Steelers' offensive rankings jumped to seventh in scoring and 2nd in yardage. Among the biggest differences was how Bell was worked into the passing game. In his rookie season of 2013, Bell only was targeted 62 times for 45 receptions and 399 receiving yards. But in 2014, those targets rose to 100, receptions to 83 and yards to 854 along with three touchdowns. Bell recorded 827 of those 854 receiving yards after the catch, showing how Roethlisberger kept targeting Bell by the line of scrimmage and let him do the rest with his skills as a ball carrier.
Through two games, Harris has been targeted eight times, catching six passes for 47 yards and a touchdown. But if the Steelers incorporate him more as a consistent check down option for Roethlisberger, he could be a key asset to opening up the rest of the offense.
The major problem with the offense has been Roethlisberger's lack of consistency processing defenses and cycling through his reads, which hasn't been uncommon during his career. During these struggles, Roethlisberger normally stuck to his primary reads and trusted his eyes if he sees a matchup he liked.
But sometimes that means he also didn't see the rest of the field for easier or more opportune targets. Here was a key conversion when Roethlisberger knew he had Johnson in single coverage working a comeback route. The throw worked, but in focusing on Johnson, Roethlisberger skipped on Chase Claypool who was more open on a crossing route and whose separation could've led to more yards after the catch:
But that was hardly the worst of the passes he missed.
Several times, Roethlisberger looked like he didn't trust either his eyes or his arm in Canada's offense, even when receivers were very much open.
Here's a play when Smith-Schuster ran his deep-in route behind the linebackers and underneath the safeties of a zone defense. Smith-Schuster was very much open, but Roethlisberger didn't see it right away and didn't trust his arm to make the throw even when he did:
That's right in the range where if Roethlisberger can hit more often, linebackers will be more hesitant to come up in run support after seeing their defense getting hit with more of those passes.
But again, Roethlisberger's problem has been consistently seeing the field. He definitely knows where his receivers will be during any given play, but has struggled understanding how to attack defenses with those receivers.
Here's another example when he tried to hit Claypool deep down the sideline. The idea Roethlisberger wanted to exploit made sense before the snap, hitting Claypool on a wheel route against a defender who would be playing catch-up. In theory, it was a good call, but with Casey Hayward Jr. also running deep, he was able to adjust and knock the pass away, almost intercepting the pass:
If Roethlisberger had checked underneath, he would've found Smith-Schuster for an open pass with the closest defender ten yards away on a first down, a much preferable target.
It's mistakes like these that can get corrected over time with Roethlisberger getting more used to the rhythm and flow of Canada's play calls and how they counteract with different defensive looks. But while he does that, finding easier, simpler solutions to further the passing game would best aid the Steelers' offense while both that develops along with the offensive line.
Just like throwing the ball to Bell on underneath routes out of the backfield worked to open up Haley's offense with Roethlisberger in 2014, the same can happen with Harris in 2021. We've even seen it start to work against the Raiders.
Here's that pass to the flat where Harris mauled Jonathan Abrams with a massive stiff arm in open space. Harris simply runs a route to the flat, nothing complex or intricate, but the Steelers get the benefit of his skills as a ball carrier in open space:
While defenses are worried about doubling Smith-Schuster over the middle, which the Raiders did several times, or keeping a safety overtop of Claypool, which they also did several times, Harris will get single coverage chances to make plays on high percentage passes from Roethlisberger.
Harris did just that on his 25-yard touchdown reception out of the backfield for Roethlisberger. Watch how he ran a sharp out route and by making a single man miss, opened up the entire sideline to the end zone:
Those are the skills the Steelers drafted Harris in the first round to use. It only makes sense that they find ways to use him that don't involve relying an offensive line that still needs to come together.
For those who think Harris needs to stay back on more passing plays for extra protection, the Steelers can afford to assign that duty to other players. Pat Freiermuth would be a viable option, but also Derek Watt out of the backfield as an extra blocker could be a viable option.
Watt could also pose as a two-sided threat, as a run blocker for Harris moving forward while also being a pass protector for Roethlisberger. Using both as protecting sidecar options in the shotgun along with three receivers or two receiver sets with a tight end could pose serious questions for defenses that force matchup issues between the Steelers' deep athletic receiver group and the threat of Harris as a runner and Watt as a blocker.
But the key to all of that is making sure defenses fear Harris as a consistent receiving threat underneath to potentially open up more options for the offense. If Roethlisberger hits him with those chances and he capitalizes, like he did Sunday, either defenses will have to send more defenders to stop him or he will find more success. If the latter happens, that's where Roethlisberger can start taking advantage of opposing defenses further down the field.
