Super Bowl LVII may have ended with a penalty call that will be talked about and argued over for years to come. Nevertheless, the Chiefs and Eagles put on one heck of a show.
And, if you watched closely enough, there are some things to take away from it that can tell us what the Steelers need to do in order to end their 12-year drought of getting to the big game, much less winning it.
Many might not agree, but the Steelers are in an optimal position to become a Super Bowl contender. They have stars on defense locked up on multiyear contracts. They have a quarterback on a rookie contract. And, regardless of how you may feel about him or his recent lack of playoff success, having Mike Tomlin at the helm is still a huge advantage over many other teams in the NFL.
Even so, there are some significant steps that need to be taken in order for the Steelers to get where they want to be. Three specific takeaways from Super Bowl LVII is a great place to start for the 2023 Steelers.
KENNY PICKETT TURNS INTO A 'FRANCHISE' QUARTERBACK
This is first and foremost, and also kind of obvious. If the Super Bowl taught us anything, exceptional quarterback play should be atop the list.
Yes, Patrick Mahomes is unrivaled in the NFL. Nobody can do what he does. But, don't take anything away from Jalen Hurts. He was a threat on the ground, which made Kansas City alter their defense in the second half. But, Hurts also threw several dimes under duress. Hurts played an amazing game and was more than worthy of being named MVP if the Eagles managed to win.
Watching both quarterbacks, the gap between where Kenny Pickett was as a rookie and the level at which these two quarterbacks played in the Super Bowl is pretty glaring. Pickett's 6.2 yards per attempt in 2022 is far too low of a number to threaten defenses down the field. Part of that is due to the scheme of the offense (I'll get to that later). But, Pickett needs to find a way to become a more consistent passer down the field.
However, not all hope is lost. Pickett did improve down the stretch, highlighted by just one interception over the team's final nine games of the season. He got better at producing yards when the play broke down, which is a trait that all of the best quarterbacks possess in today's game. Pickett needs to continue to improve in that regard, but he showed signs of growth there during his first NFL season.
Perhaps most important for any hope that Pickett can become a franchise quarterback was how he helped engineer two game-winning drives in the final minutes of back-to-back games late in the season. And, these weren't throw away games. They had playoff ramifications, which drastically raises the stakes. Coming through in the fashion he did throughout those moments shows that he owns the most valuable trait a quarterback can have: Rising to the occasion when the team needs him to come through, regardless of how the rest of the game has gone.
Who knows how big of a leap Pickett can make in his second season. That's really up to Pickett himself. But, the best chance the Steelers have to morph into a Super Bowl contender is for Pickett to morph into a legitimate franchise quarterback. It certainly doesn't guarantee anything, but Pickett becoming what the Steelers hope he can be only makes the process easier.
BUILD A BETTER OFFENSIVE LINE
There were two total sacks in Super Bowl LVII (both on Hurts), and the total yards lost matched the number of sacks. Both Mahomes and Hurts were able to do just about anything they wanted in 65 total pass attempts, despite both teams also having dominant defensive fronts that were first and second in the league in sacks.
No matter how the NFL evolves over the years, having dominant play on the offensive line will always be one of the best ways teams can find success. This is one of the reasons why both the Chiefs and Eagles made it as far as they did.
The Steelers' offensive line has been forced to go through some changes in recent years due to the likes of Maurkice Pouncey and Ramon Foster retiring, and the pains that come with rebuilding the unit have been blatantly obvious. Inconsistency in pass protection and inefficient run blocking has hampered the offense over the majority of the past two seasons, making it impossible -- on top of other issues -- for the offense to become one of the league's best.
However, I do want to acknowledge that the offensive line really became a strength on the 2022 Steelers. The signings of Mason Cole and James Daniels in free agency wound up being positive additions. And, with the running game shifting to more zone schemes, time was needed for all five members of the offensive line to adjust to the changes. That proved to be true as the running game produced less than 95 yards per game on the ground in the first half of the season.
But, the offensive line really jelled in the second half of the season as the offense found their identity through a potent rushing attack centered around Najee Harris. Without the improvement up front, the Steelers would never have averaged 146 rushing yards per game nor would have stood a chance to bounce back from a 2-6 start to finish the season 9-8.
That being said, as good as the offensive line was by the end of the 2022 season, they need to be even better. At their very best, this offensive line still wouldn't crack the top 10 in the NFL. The best way to support the growth of a young quarterback and take a productive rushing attack to the next level is to get better up front.
Additions are required for this to happen, specifically at the tackle positions. The Steelers will have salary cap space to possibly add another free agent this offseason, but the best way to build continuity and longevity up front is to build through the draft. And, with Andy Weidl now in the front office, the Steelers have someone with experience of building a winning formula in this way at their disposal.
Of course, all roster decisions run through Art Rooney II, Omar Khan and Tomlin. But, with seeing how fixated Tomlin was on the offensive linemen during the Senior Bowl practices, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the Steelers be aggressive in the draft along the trenches.
HOPEFULLY MATT CANADA TOOK SOME NOTES
Just watching some of the plays Andy Reid came up with in Super Bowl LVII, I said out loud, "I hope Matt Canada is taking notes."
I'm really not trying to pile on the Canada hate. That's not my place. However, it's no secret the Steelers need to score more points. 18.1 points per game isn't going to cut it. And, even if you take the final nine games as optimism for next season, they averaged only 20.9 points per game over the final nine weeks of 2022. Still not going to cut it.
How important is it for the Steelers to score more next season, and in future seasons as well? Rooney said it himself just a few weeks ago when asked what his attention will be on in 2023.
"Score more points," Rooney said. "We talked about the areas of improvement, and I think there are some good ones. But, we didn't score enough points is the bottom line. In particular, not great red zone efficiency. Those are a couple of things that I would identify that we clearly have to get better at."
The Steelers' offense will be built on the running game, and if it produces as it did during that 7-2 stretch in 2022, it'll be just fine. But, what will take the offense to the next level is adding more creativity in the passing game. That doesn't mean just chunk plays down the field. Those are obviously needed, but they don't do any good in the red zone. As Rooney mentioned, the Steelers were not good in the red zone last season, nor were they good when they got inside the 30-yard line as they led the NFL in field goal attempts between 40-49 yards.
More routes over the middle of the field is a great place to start. This offense needs more slants and drags in addition to the deeper routes. Having a player such as Diontae Johnson catch the majority of his passes breaking out of curls and out routes is a misuse of his talent. Put him in a better position to produce after the catch by having him catch more passes in stride.
George Pickens and Pat Freiermuth must be targeted more in the red zone. That almost goes without saying. And, watching Kansas City run unique plays that have a receiver go against the grain while the quarterback stays in the pocket, creating open spaces even in the best zone defenses, just goes to show just how much better they are than everyone else.
Not everyone is an offensive genius like Reid. But, whether it be through Canada rewriting his pass plays or Tomlin bringing in a passing game coordinator, putting more plays in that can take the top off the defense opens up everything else in the offense such as the running game and shorter passes that have the potential for yards after the catch. And, when the field gets shorter, properly utilizing the talent on offense is a great way to turn more drives into touchdowns.
The Steelers will learn in 2023 whether or not Canada can actually become a productive coordinator. If keeping the band together for 2023 doesn't pay off, then new blood will be needed. As great as the Steelers want their defense to be, teams have to be able to put up points in today's NFL.
One non-Steelers team executive told me recently, "You throw the ball to score points, and you run the ball to win games." The Steelers have the ability to do the latter. Now, they need to improve the former.
