After 2-6 start, offense took it upon themselves to turn season around taken on the South Side (Steelers)

ABIGAIL DEAN / STEELERS

Kenny Pickett throws during Thursday's practice at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.

It's really been a tale of two halves for the Steelers' offense.

Yes, a huge reason for Pittsburgh's turnaround from a 2-6 start to the season has been T.J. Watt's return on defense after a seven-game absence. But, the offense found a way to do a 180 out of the bye week and has played significantly better during this 6-2 stretch.

When I asked Matt Canada during his Thursday media availability about where the most encouraging signs of growth have been for his offense, he didn't point to only one or two things. 

"There’s a lot of different places to look," Canada said. "Probably up front with the offensive line. Thinking back to standing out here in the preseason after a game when the O-line was labeled as they were, I think the way they've come together and the job they've done. You win up front, that's the fact of life. I think there's a great credit to them for what they've done.

"I think, along those lines, going to (Najee Harris) and Jaylen [Warren]. Naj has gotten healthy and the way he's running the football now is a drastic difference from the way it was early on. That’s starting with the line. It's not just Naj, but I think you see that. And obviously, Jaylen, we've always talked a lot about what he's done running the football. I think our quarterback play has continued to grow and we’re taking care of the football. So, there's a lot of positives."

The offensive line was arguably the biggest concern for this Steelers team heading into the season. And after the preseason game in Jacksonville (the one Canada referred to), those concerns did escalate into somewhat of a panic mode for the fan base. Without solid offensive line play, the quarterback won't have to throw and there won't be room to run and control the clock. As Canada said, they had to win up front in order to succeed this season.

As predicted, the offensive line took time to build the necessary cohesion to be effective. At the same time, Mitch Trubisky played poorly enough to lose his starting job at quarterback to Kenny Pickett, Harris was running without the explosion, conviction and physicality we witnessed during his rookie year and the receivers couldn't find any shred of consistency due to the quarterback change and some very suspect route trees.

In the first eight games of the season, the offense posted putrid numbers that lit Canada's seat on fire. The offense averaged 15.0 points per game, averaged 94.9 rushing yards per game, converted only 33.6% of its third down attempts, which ranked 28th in the NFL, and averaged 29:33 in time of possession, which ranked 22nd.

When the Steelers entered their bye in Week 9, they did a lot of self reflection. The defense was struggling without their best player, and the offense was doing absolutely nothing to make up for that. And in order for a team to be successful, complementary football has to be part of it.

"As a group, it comes down to complementing each other. Offense, defense, special teams," Cam Heyward said Wednesday regarding the team growth over the second half of the season. "Even when something goes wrong for the offense or a defensive play or special teams play, it's having that rebuttal and having that counter to make sure that we back each other up."

Whether it was scheme, execution of plays or something as simple as the collective attitude in the locker room, changes had to be made during the bye.

"We obviously talked about a lot of things," Canada said. "The accountability level was raised a little bit. There are no excuses in life. You either get it done or you don't. You’re young, you’re this, you’re that, and I think there was an accountability element that was brought by the players to each other that, as we all sat and talked, we needed to find a way to pull the thumb and get a little bit better. There were some really good meetings and things we did that we feel like obviously made a difference and it showed up statistically, but all that matters is it’s showed up in wins."

Since that time, the offense is averaging 146.3 rushing yards per game, converting 53.5% of its third down attempts and averaging 31:19 in time of possession, which is tied for fifth in the NFL. Over the past three games, the Steelers are second in the NFL with an average of 34:14 in time of possession, and they've converted 58.7% of their third downs, which is the best mark in the league during that stretch.

That's complementary football. The offense controlling the ball keeps the defense fresh, which makes everything easier on them to face teams such as the Falcons, Ravens and Panthers that love to run the football.

In addition, Pickett has grown up quite a bit as well. He threw two touchdowns and eight interceptions prior to the bye week, and since then he's thrown four touchdowns and only one interception. That stretch since the bye week included a streak of 145 passes without an interception.

But, the credit doesn't all go to the rookie quarterback's growth.

"A lot of things since the bye have been really, really positive," Canada said. "Our rushing is way better. Our third-down numbers are unbelievably better. That's a credit. The quarterback gets all the credit and gets all the blame. He deserves a lot of credit. But so does I think everybody else."

Even with the growth and success over the last eight games, the offense still has to find ways to finish drives. An average of 20.0 points per game certainly is an improvement. However, even if the Steelers were to average that over the course of the season, it wouldn't even get them out of the bottom third of the NFL. That doesn't bode well for a team with Super Bowl aspirations.

"We’ve got to score. I think we all know it, we’ve got to score more," Canada said. "We can't go down there and not get touchdowns. The windows are tighter, the field, those plays get bigger, and we certainly can't stop ourselves. We’ve seen ourselves do that a couple times throughout this season. More than a couple self inflicted wounds."

The question now is if Canada has done enough to keep his job for the final year of his contract as the offensive coordinator. During the first half of the season, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Canada would be gone. And from what I've gathered in the locker room, that was the general consensus during that time. Now, no one is really sure.

A second half of a season that's included much better play calling or expanded creativity such as using Warren on the field alongside Harris has also really helped an offense that was anemic during the first half of the season. At the end of it all, whether the Steelers sneak into the playoffs or not, everyone will be judged on their overall body of work. That includes those first eight games.

"I wish we could have everything. I wish everything was ready to go back in September, the entire offense, with all these rookies that we’re playing and young guys," Canada said. "I wish it all would have just been that that way. I know you all would have liked that better, and we would have too, but some things evolve over time and with guys learning."

MORE FROM THE SOUTH SIDE

• Harris has run the ball with much more conviction and physicality over the second half of the season. Canada described it as a "drastic difference." I asked Canada, from his perspective, why he thinks that.

"You'd have to ask Najee that," Canada said. "I just think there's confidence. All this is encompassing. I think where we are and the numbers change and all those things that have occurred is the whole, I say it all the time, 11 men doing their job. One guy does the wrong thing, and the play looks unbelievably awful. It’s not always the case. I think all 11 guys are firing on the same cylinder right now. And then in turn, there's trust with Naj, he's hitting the hole, he's seeing the hole.

"I do think there was a little bit of his health. He would say that to us, and he's a tough guy that was playing. I think it's all those -- like I said, I want to give credit to everybody, but I also want to give credit just to them as a group because I think to the bye question and everything else, it's those guys come together and saying, ‘We're going to play really, really sound offensive football. 11 guys doing their job and finding a way just to win, and I think that's what they always want to do that, but you see that drive a little bit more and it comes out in individual play."

• The offensive line has continued to grow and gel together down the stretch. Pat Meyer doesn't get nearly enough credit for helping coach and teach all the necessary details to properly execute a zone-heavy rushing scheme, but it's paid off over the course of the season. His linemen aren't shy about crediting him and the coaching staff for the job they've done.

"We have guys that just care about getting better. That's all they do," James Daniels said Thursday. "They come in and think about how they can help, how they can be a better employee of the Steelers' organization. They do a really good job of doing that."

• Going through the comments of my story from Wednesday on the players buying into Tomlin's consistency, I saw a few statements that Tomlin lacks in strategy. It actually reminded me of a quote from his press conference on Tuesday in which he was asked about making different decisions to combat different teams' strengths. 

Three examples: Playing with more big guys up front against the larger guys the Panthers deploy in their running scheme. Riding the balancing act against the Raiders of stopping Josh Jacobs, which they did, and neutralizing Davante Adams, which they did. Finally, leaning on the skill sets of Mark Robinson and DeMarvin Leal to thwart the Ravens' complex rushing attack, which they (mostly) did.

As much as Tomlin loves setting a high level of consistency for his players, this is a part of coaching he cherishes.

"I love it," Tomlin said Tuesday. "I just I think at the early portions of the season, man, this game could be described as checkers; at the latter portions of the season, it’s chess. And guys like me get a chance to earn our keep."

• For those expecting the Browns to come to Acrisure Stadium on Sunday with the desire to play spoiler, you're right. And that's what the Steelers are expecting.

"I think they're going to go into the game just like we do," Teryl Austin said Thursday. "This is an AFC North game. We know how competitive these games are. They know us, we know them, and really I'm sure they're going to do the things that they can to win the game like we are. I don't think there's any 'because we're not in the playoffs, we're going to do something different.' They're going to try to win the game just like we are."

• Probably the best news of the day came from the Bills about the latest on Damar Hamlin. The team announced that while Hamlin is still "critically ill," the physicians caring for him have said he's demonstrated that he's neurologically intact and that his lungs continue to heal. Corey Crisan has much more on that in a separate piece.

Corey has also this story on facing Deshaun Watson for the first time as a Cleveland Brown.

• On the injury front, Diontae Johnson (hip), Tre Norwood (hamstring), Najee Harris (rest), Kevin Dotson (shoulder) returned to practice on Thursday after missing Wednesday's session. All but Norwood were full participants.

Arthur Maulet (illness), Minkah Fitzpatrick (ankle), Myles Jack (groin), Cam Heyward (vet rest) and Larry Ogunjobi (toe) did not practice Thursday. For all but Heyward, it was the second day in a row without participation in practice.

Alex Highsmith was added to Thursday's injury report with an ankle issue. He was listed as a limited participant.

James Pierre (concussion) is still in the protocol, but was a full participant for the second day in a row. That is encouraging for him as he goes through the stages of the protocol.

William Jackson III is back at practice after sitting out all of his time in Pittsburgh since he was acquired at the Nov. 1 tread deadline. Turns out, he actually has a chance to suit up on Sunday.

"There's always a chance. I wouldn't rule him out," Austin said. "He's been out here, he's been doing some stuff. He had his window open up yesterday. We'll see where that takes us."

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