Tangible, real progress was made from the Steelers' offense Sunday, even with Eddie Faulkner and Mike Sullivan taking over the reins of designing and calling the offense in short order.
The 421 yards of offense was nothing like it had experienced in 58 prior games. Kenny Pickett's 278 passing yards and 72.7% completion rate were his highest marks since the 327 yards he threw on a 74.8% completion rate in his first career start against the Bills on October 9 of last year. Pickett's 24 pass completions on Sunday were the most since Week 1 of this season against the 49ers, as well.
The offense ran more fluidly -- perhaps surprising to some, given the circumstances -- and the flow at minimum gives building blocks to utilize for the remaining six games of the season. Things looked up for 60 football minutes in Sunday's 16-10 win over the Bengals.
"It felt good on Sunday," Pickett said after Wednesday's practice at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "Obviously want more points, but after watching the tape and seeing how we executed in the pass game, the run game, how things kind of balanced off of each other, definitely liked our performance, but we want more points obviously."
Faulkner's first game as the Steelers' interim offensive coordinator has drawn positive marks, overall, because of that yardage output. However, some meat was still left on the bone given the output of 16 total points against the Bengals defense that allowed 30 and 34 points in the previous two games leading up to Sunday.
"The chunk plays were there," Pickett said. "That was good. I thought we had some really good drives, working on some long fields. We got to the red zone, we just had a negative play or a penalty we felt like took us out of that rhythm, that really good rhythm that we were having. We get that fixed, the points will follow."
This offense feels that. It feels more is to come. It feels there is something to, minimally, build from. The road ahead in the short-term is lighter, with matchups against the Cardinals (26.8 points allowed per game, 31st in the NFL) and the Patriots (22.5 ppg. allowed, 21st).
"Certainly, I think we moved the ball up and down the field, I felt like, the whole game," Mason Cole said before Wednesday's practice. "No three-and-outs, just penalties and turnovers in the red zone killed us. It felt like we get in the fringe area and we get a penalty and that knocked us out of field goal range. There's still a lot to clean up, but it certainly felt better."
The statistics Pickett and Cole referred are correct. The Steelers' offense did not go three-and-out once against the Bengals, but five penalties for 55 yards and a 1-for-4 effort in the red zone are less than desirable. The penalty Cole referred to was a holding on Broderick Jones near the end of the first half, enforced at the Bengals 46-yard line, which led to a punt three plays later from the Bengals' 47.
There was also the Jaylen Warren fumble at the Bengals 13 in the first quarter that cost a possession, though the reaction and lack of effort from Diontae Johnson to try to fall on the ball has drawn more reaction than the play itself. The turnover didn't cost the Steelers in terms of points, but the Steelers' next possession began at their own 11. Chris Boswell capped that eight-play drive with a field goal for the game's first points early in the second quarter.
Those moments add up, but those moments are also teachable.
"Everybody's just buying in and just wanting to win," Johnson said before Wednesday's practice. "The coaches are going to come up with a great game plan. You can't ever take nothing from that part, but the changes -- it's the same plays. ... I'm just out there playing. I'm not worried about the numbers or the yards the whole offense's got right now. I worry about that at the end of the game. I didn't know we had 400 yards. That's great, that's big, that hasn't happened in a while. All we can do is just keep playing and not worry about that stuff."
Faulkner coordinating the offense and Sullivan calling the plays is 1-for-1 on game days. Pickett was, overall, pleased with the work of the week given Matt Canada's firing occurred on Tuesday of last week, but there are things that can be cleaned up.
"I think the flow was good, I think the setup we had throughout the week was good, and the game day operations with me and coach Sully and talking on the sideline amongst the other coaches was smooth," Pickett said. "Obviously it can get better, something we're going to continue to try and iron out, but for the first time out it was good."
Specifically, the biggest improvement is within the optimization and the speed at which Sullivan delivers the play to Pickett from the sideline. Cole said one focal point from Sullivan was that he wanted to relay those calls in as quickly as possible, which gives Pickett and the offense more time to diagnose the defense from the line of scrimmage.
That is the top-of-mind thing that Pickett pointed out as something for Faulkner, Sullivan, and him to iron out.
"Personnels and stuff like that," Pickett said. "Just hearing him say it, wristband numbers (and) him repeating them. Just things that we can iron out, small-detail things that we can get out of the huddle faster."
From Cole's perspective, that concerted effort, even with some optimization still needed, led to few if any issues Sunday.
"For sure, for sure. I don't think there was any miscommunications out there for the most part, I think it was smooth," Cole said. "... They've been fantastic. Sully made an emphasis all week that he was going to get the plays in faster so hat we had more time at the line of scrimmage. On the road like that, it felt like we had more time. It felt better."
Perhaps the most important aspect of the win over the Bengals was just that.
As in, the win itself.
The yardage output is one thing and the process of finding points is another, but having the ability to overcome an obstacle as large as a coaching change on a holiday week with a division rival in sight was not an easy thing for this team to do.
Especially after the loss to the Browns the week prior and in the fashion they sustained that loss. Najee Harris was vocal after the Browns game about change, and pondered out loud: "how long is that s--- going to last?"
Harris hadn't spoken since those comments ... until Wednesday. With Canada's firing in mind, Harris credited the work of offensive line coach Pat Meyer, Sullivan, and Faulkner for the preparation that put the Steelers in those favorable spots on Sunday.
“I think us as a team did a really good job just because of a lot of distractions, obviously, from the outside media on the coaching changes on the offense’s side," Harris said Wednesday. "For us an an offense it’s going out there and executing on a high level. To put up that yardage for the first time, I think that I tip my hat off for us as a team and Pat, Sully, and coach Faulk for getting us ready for the week. Them, really, just motivating us and doing a really good job, especially coach Faulk, just his leadership in there, I think that it deserves more talk.”
That energy was felt in practice, according to Johnson.
"You've seen that carry over to the game," Johnson said. "Obviously we didn't score three touchdowns -- that was our main goal, scoring three touchdowns -- but we've just got to keep working and it's going to come."
Now, it's about replicating it and building on it.
"The only way to prove it is to go out on Sunday and do it again," Cole said. "Score more points. Again, we've got to put out head down and work. There's stuff to clean up, there's still opportunity to be way better. We've got a good challenge this week with Arizona and the challenges will continue as the year goes on."
