Kenny Pickett, Steelers Show Flashes in Raiders Win but Still Have Long Way to Go

Three weeks into the 2023 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers are 2-1 and tied for first place in the AFC North. After outlasting the Las Vegas Raiders 23-18 Sunday night, the Steelers have peeled off back-to-back wins after getting humiliated at home by the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1. The NFL is all about results, and for the past two weeks Pittsburgh has gotten the win.

However, before anyone starts making travel plans for a return trip to Allegiant Stadium in February, a reality check is in order. The Steelers may have just had their best offensive performance of 2023, but it came against a bad Raiders defense—and even then, it was a close contest.

If the Steelers are going to get back to the postseason, there’s still a lot of work to be done on the offensive side of the ball.

Entering Sunday night’s game against Vegas, the Steelers were 29th in the NFL in offense, averaging a paltry 247 yards a game. After a preseason in which the Steelers seemingly moved the ball at will, that has caused quite a bit of consternation among the Pittsburgh fanbase. Criticism has been hurled at quarterback Kenny Pickett and offensive coordinator Matt Canada, with a petition being circulated to fire the latter.

Earlier this week, Pickett admitted that it wasn’t just the fans who are frustrated—the players are as well.

“There’s good plays and there’s bad plays,” Pickett said. “That’s the way it’s going to go every game. There’s just too much bad popping up that we have to get off tape. The attitude is going to be there. People are frustrated. Nobody likes to be playing like that. From a fanbase standpoint, a player standpoint, nobody wants that offense out there that we’re putting out right now. We know we have to be better. We’re going to keep pushing for that.”

For one evening at least, those frustrations were alleviated.

Against the Raiders, Pittsburgh piled up 333 yards of total offense. Pickett had easily his best game of the season. There was even something that has been sorely lacking in Pittsburgh dating back to last season—an explosive offensive play in the form of a 72-yard touchdown pass to young wideout Calvin Austin III.

While speaking to sideline reporter Melissa Stark of NBC Sports after Sunday night’s win, Pickett said that the key to the team’s offensive success against the Raiders was a balanced attack.

“When we’re balanced, we’re dangerous,” Pickett said. “It’s the ultimate team game and I think we’ve got great players on the outside, great backs and great guys up front—and when we’re balanced, we’re at our best.”

Pickett’s not wrong, necessarily—at least not in theory. But the reality of the state of the Pittsburgh offense isn’t quite what he made it out to be.

For starters, Sunday the Steelers faced a Raiders defense that ranked 20th in the league entering the game. A defense that was embarrassed by the Buffalo Bills in Week 2. And a defense that ended the 2022 season 28th in the league in total defense and 26th in points allowed.

If you can’t move the ball against the Raiders, you have real problems.

And even then, while the Steelers had their best offensive showing of the year Sunday night, they weren’t exactly the Miami Dolphins doing it.

Yes, Pittsburgh had by far its best game of the season running the ball after averaging a pathetic 48 yards a game on the ground the first two games. But it took the Steelers 31 carries to tally 105 yards against one of the poorest run defenses in the league. Najee Harris continued to look slow and indecisive, averaging 3.4 yards per carry. Jaylen Warren wasn’t that much better, averaging 3.6 yards a pop on his eight carries.

Yes, Pickett had his best game of the year. But completing 26 of 38 passes for 235 yards and two scores isn’t generally the sort of stat line that inspires jubilation. Take out that long throw to Austin, and Pickett averaged just 6.1 yards per attempt—almost identical to both his 2023 and career averages. Pickett is what he is—an average arm talent. He’s never going to be great. Or a star.

There’s also the matter of those “great” guys up front. Heading into the season, Dalton Miller of Pro Football Network ranked Pittsburgh’s offensive line 22nd in the league. If anything, that’s being generous. The Steelers’ issues in the run game and Pickett’s inability to make downfield throws are due in part to an offensive line that loses at the point of attack more than it wins.

Yes, injuries to players like wide receiver Diontae Johnson haven’t helped matters. But the cold, hard truth is that Pittsburgh is an average offense on a good day. And it hasn’t helped that Canada keeps calling plays as though the Steelers’ deficiencies didn’t exist. Sticking to his “system” rather than crafting one around what the team does well—or at least better.

There were signs of those things against the Raiders. For starters, take every stretch play out of the playbook and burn them—especially if Harris is getting the ball. To be frank, regardless of who was drafted when, the smart play would be less Harris altogether and more Warren. The latter has been much more decisive and explosive. If you are going to run Harris, go power all the way. Smashmouth. Straight ahead. Use his size and mask his lack of speed.

When Pickett is throwing the ball, there are two choices. The first is to get rid of the ball—quickly. The second, if Canada wants to push the ball down the field, is to take advantage of Pickett’s mobility (he’s not Anthony Richardson, but he’s not a statue, either) with designed rollouts or bootlegs. If the line can’t buy him time, find another way to.

The Steelers are an excellent defensive team led by arguably the best player in the league on that side of the ball in edge-rusher T.J. Watt. That defense won the Steelers’ Week 2 tilt with the Browns and will keep them in most others. But the offense has to hold up its end of the deal, too.

Sunday night, it did. But if the team is going to keep that momentum going next week in Houston and the following week against the hated Ravens, then the offense has to get better. Has to be more consistent.

The path to doing that is simplifying things. Stop pretending the Steelers are something they aren’t. Focus on what the team does relatively well.

Do that, and Pittsburgh can be a factor in the AFC North. But one win over a bad Raiders team doesn’t magically fix everything.

And if Canada pretends that it does, the number of signatures on that petition is going to keep growing.