We've been waiting to for the dam to break for the Steelers' offense for multiple weeks. And even though they scored touchdowns on three straight drives in the second half last Sunday in Indianapolis, we still have yet to see everything come together.
Now, the offense did put up 24 points, which is a number that just about anyone would take. And, there were 404 total yards, which means it took Arthur Smith four games to do something Matt Canada couldn't do in 44. However, there are still a lot of underlying issues and, until those are fixed, there'll continue to be a microscope put to elements like the slow starts and, in particular, running the ball effectively.
"We've got a strong commitment to the run game," Smith said Thursday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "As you get going in this thing, there's your mixing-and-matching alignment, and there's a rhythm to the run game, as well. But, you saw probably in the Chargers game, you can see times we're in sync. But that's something that obviously we're continuing to work through, just like you do every year. We need to be cleaner, definitely earlier in the game."
But how?
The Steelers rank 10th in the NFL with 128.5 rushing yards per game, but that's mainly out of volume. They're actually one of the most inefficient rushing teams, averaging 3.7 yards per carry, fifth-worst in the league. They rank 29th in rushing expected points added, 25th in rushing success rate. For an offense that prides itself on being a run-first unit, that's not going to cut it.
Now, to be fair, there've been a slew of injuries on the line, notably season-enders for Nate Herbig, Troy Fautanu and James Daniels.
"Nobody cares," Smith would say to that subject. "Everybody's dealing with something. It's our job to figure it out and improve."
One way to go about that would be to just execute better, especially on first down, tendencies and schemes be damned.
"The defense is there to stop the run, too. It's not going to be like, 'Oh, we can just do our blocks and it's going to be 5 or 8 yards," Najee Harris said Thursday. "The team knows it's heavy run. They're doing everything they can to stop the run. We've just gotta have the mentality of, they know what we're doing, and we know what we're doing, let's just play football. Have a dog mentality."
Sounds great. Isn't happening. The Steelers rank dead last in the league on first-down runs at 2.92 yards per carry.
And yet, strikingly, that figure soars to 4.86 on second down, 11th-best.
So, what's the answer?
Some might suggest play-action, but they rank 28th on those at 5.12 yards per pass attempt and dead last at 1.3 yards as average depth of target. That's a whole 2 yards behind the Raiders, who rank 31st. All this despite having 45 dropbacks out of play-action, the third-highest total.
To further break that down: Only 41.2% of play-action pass attempts have gone to the play's first read, the lowest percentage. Instead, 44.1% have gone to the checkdown, far and away the highest percentage. Next-highest is the Broncos' 20.6%.
Justin Fields has been sacked four times out of play-action, but just one of those was his fault, per FantasyPoints.com. He's also avoided three sacks because of his escapability, and he's been pressured 19 times out of play-action, third-most in football.
I asked Fields what he's seeing in this context:
"A lot of defensive coordinators, they run a lot of shell on first and second down trying to catch that play-pass," he replied. "So I think you know that's just going to come when we catch them in the right coverage, to be honest with you. But we're fine taking completions too, for 10 or 12 yards and checking the ball down to Najee. So no, I'm fine with that. And yeah, the biggest thing about taking shots downfield is not forcing them and just taking that as they come."
That shows Fields' growth. It's about being aggressive, but it's also keeping the ball, especially if play-action can help at least move the chains until they figure out how to get more chunks out of it.
But it should also be noted that being OK with taking check downs isn't all awful. If the defense gives away space underneath, then take it and say thank you. That was missing from Canada's offense. There weren't nearly enough slam dunks for small chunks.
So, if play-action isn't an answer for more production on first down, what can be? Perhaps a shift of running scheme?
Despite Smith's system relying more on wide and outside zone concepts, the running game is finding much more efficiency running inside zone, averaging 4.47 yards per carry on 38 attempts. Also, 11 of 38 inside zone carries have resulted in first downs, the most of any rushing concept the Steelers have deployed.
And since Harris will likely be without Jaylen Warren and Cordarrelle Patterson this Sunday against the Cowboys, it's noteworthy that he just so happens to be most efficient this season when running inside zone, averaging 5.42 yards per carry with a 52.6% success rate. The Cowboys are also vulnerable against inside zone this season, averaging 5.23 yards per carry against it.
There are challenges for everyone on the South Side to figure out the running game and lack of efficiency on first down. Smith needs to scheme things up better. Harris needs to play better. As does the offensive line. But if the Steelers can't find a way to run against an already bad run defense that is now missing two star players in Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence, then any doubt that this offense can effectively run the ball this season will be validated.
MORE STEELERS
• Roman Wilson isn't fully healthy. He's not being listed on the injury report anymore, but Mike Tomlin isn't activating him yet because he just isn't able to execute everything at a high enough level yet. The talk of "getting on a moving train" has some merit, too, but Wilson isn't physically ready, either.
• As I've already reported, the Steelers are definitely in on Davante Adams. However, I have yet to hear anything that suggests Omar Khan is willing to throw caution to the wind an pay whatever's necessary to bring him to Pittsburgh. Adams doesn't currently fit under the salary cap, but will by the time the trade deadline comes on Nov. 5.
Should the Steelers actually land Adams, don't expect there to be any contract extension or anything of the sort until after the season. It's just how the Steelers operate, and that won't change for any potential addition to the roster. Thus, should the Steelers actually land Adams, view it initially as a rental since the $36.25 million per year the Steelers would be responsible for isn't guaranteed.
• Russell Wilson is ramping everything back up. He's getting very close to being healthy enough to play, and could even be active for Sunday night as the No. 2 quarterback. The days of Tomlin settling for the status quo on the QB1 questions are coming to an end sooner rather than later. It won't be all that long until both quarterbacks are healthy and Tomlin has to name an official starter atop the depth chart.
• The most I can say about Cole Holcomb's rehab is it's going well. Nothing new to report on that front, except that any external speculation regarding the nature of his injury is incorrect. It truly remains a mystery. What I can tell you is he's eager to return. That much is clear.
• Cam Sutton is back on the South Side. Don't worry, the Steelers aren't breaking any rules. After having to serve the first four games of his eight-game suspension without any contact with the team, he is now permitted to attend team meetings and participate as he normally would, except he's not permitted to practice or play, and he's not allowed to attend games, either.
