The Steelers' red zone production skyrocketed from 2017 to 2018 because Randy Fichtner diversified the offense's attack by spreading out the different options defenses had to cover. The offense went from ranking at No. 18 scoring touchdowns on 53.03 percent of red zone possessions to ranking No. 1 with 73.47 percent in 2018.
But one of the last threats any defense prepared for against the Steelers was what Ben Roethlisberger would do with his legs. As Dale Lolley reported last summer, Roethlisberger lost weight for training camp and that helped him score three rushing touchdowns after only scoring one rushing touchdown in the previous four seasons combined.
Here's how that helps:
When defenses plan for the Steelers they have to account for gap integrity of the run game and the potential threat of five eligible receivers. Roethlisberger's reputation in the league does not lend anyone to prepare for him like defenses would for Lamar Jackson, Russell Wilson or Deshaun Watson.
But having the ability to take advantage of every weakness a defense exposes is what makes for great offense. It's what made Randy Fichtner's offense so dangerous when I wrote about the progress he engineered last season. Teams approached former coordinator Todd Haley's offense thinking to take away Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell, and if that was done the Steelers would be in trouble.
But watch how having a mobile Roethlisberger changes every part of the approach. Here's a red zone scramble that gained a first down against the Falcons. The defense sells out in coverage with an aggressively wide four-man rush and doubling Brown on the left side of the formation. No player is assigned to spy on Roethlisberger or patrol a zone in the middle of the field.
When Roethlisberger sees his options taken he takes off and gains 8 yards to move the chains:
The 2018 Roethlisberger was not afraid to use his legs when the situation called for it. One of the best examples was when he took one of the Steelers' most routine red zone plays for himself to beat the Jaguars. You remember when Dejan Kovacevic wrote about it when it happened, but let's revisit.
The Steelers called up their own version of a triple-option that they've used in practice and in games for the past couple of years. Roethlisberger would break to one side of the offense with a running back extending the play wider as a pitch option with a tight end trailing Roethlisberger across the line. The design of the play forces the defense to account for James Conner running to the flat, Vance McDonald coming across the line and Roethlisberger with the ball.
The Jaguars schematically shut the play down. Telvin Smith ran with Conner, Yannick Ngakoue cut off McDonald and Myles Jack ran with Roethlisberger. After Matt Feiler whiffs on Jack, Roethlisberger plants a jab step and turns up to dive straight for the end zone, a momentum Jack cannot stop:
This is not a version of Steelers football that Fichtner and Roethlisberger want to overly rely on as they need to protect the 37-year-old franchise quarterback and running is not a strong point of his game. But having it in their back pocket to scramble and take advantage of quarterback sneaks would present a last line of offense that could come through in the tightest of pinches.
MORE CARTER’S CLASSROOM
July 1: Why Haden's still vital
June 28: Run defense even better?
June 27: Communicating the danger
June 26: Hargrave balances D-line
