The Steelers' offensive struggles on third down are no secret. They currently rank 30th in third down percentage, only converting 27.3 percent. Having Mason Rudolph making his first two career starts is one thing, but they're also losing in third and short situations where they used to dominate by running the ball.
Let's take a closer look at why they're failing in those critical moments:
When the Steelers have had a third down with three or fewer yards to go, their conversion rate is 22.7 percent, even worse than their overall third down conversion rate.
That's bizarre, and unacceptable for the offense moving forward. If there's any moment you need to succeed, it's when you only need to gain a yard or two to keep a drive alive. Through four games, the only running back to convert a third down by running the ball has been Benny Snell, with his 23 yard run against the Seahawks.
Other than that single run, James Conner, Jaylen Samuels and Snell have combined for five rushes on third downs for a total of -13 yards. The Steelers have to win third and short situations if the offense hopes to have continuity moving forward.
But how much of that is on the running backs compared to the offensive line? Here's a look back at third-and-one when Snell got stuffed by the Bengals.
Watch how aggressive the Bengals are against the dive by Snell. The offensive line crashes right and does their job moving the Bengals' defensive line. However you see safety Brandon Wilson scream off that left edge into the backfield and hit Snell before he even gets started, ending the play:
If you take a closer look at the linebackers, you can see No. 59 Nick Vigil and No. 52 Preston Brown rushing to their gaps as soon as the ball is snapped. There is only one thing on the Bengals' mind here, and it's to stuff any rushing attempt by the Steelers.
The Bengals employed an approach similar to the Patriots, Seahawks and 49ers when facing the Steelers this season. They are selling out hard against the run in predictable situations. Let's look at the very next play when it was fourth-and-1, another short yardage situation that failed.
This time the Steelers' offensive line pinches to collapse the Bengals' defense on itself. But here comes Wilson again, firing free into the backfield off the edge to shut down the play before it can begin. Conner could have tried to bounce this outside and win a one-on-one battle had Wilson not been back there, but because the Bengals sold out to shut it down, there was nothing he could do:
This has been the same story for four weeks now: There was a clear established hole a running back was supposed to hit on a third- or fourth-and-short situation that they didn't. And that's because every defense they've played has been overly aggressive to shut down the run in those situations.
Here's another example, this time with Samuels. The Steelers wanted to try a wider run after previous failures up the middle. But again, the Bengals are jumping all over it as soon as the play begins.
Watch how off Vigil jumps down off the right edge below, beating JuJu Smith-Schuster to the gap and cutting off Samuels' path. He also blows up James Washington who was pulling to be a lead blocker for Samuels out on the edge. This resulted in a a five yard loss on third-and-2:
The Steelers have to expect the Ravens will come with a similar approach on third downs. John Harbaugh has always been a coach that loves to pick at the weaknesses of the Steelers, as does Mike Tomlin with the Ravens.
So how do they counter it?
By playing off the defense's aggression. It doesn't always require a big play-action pass, but sometimes a quick dump pass to a tight end who releases from a fake block could catch a blitzing safety unaware and make for an easy throw for their young quarterback. The Steelers could also dial up some quarterback sneaks to make life easier for Rudolph, but it all involves finding different ways to fix a problem that hasn't gone away.
It's going to take outsmarting defenses to fix this problem. Not slamming your head repeatedly into a brick wall.
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MORE CLASSROOM
Oct. 3: Rudolph must widen vision
Oct.2: Bush finding comfort zone
Oct. 1: The terrorization of Andy
Sept. 30: Tuitt the wrecking ball
