A 41-yard touchdown pass from Kenny Pickett to George Pickens does not absolve the Steelers' offense from four games and three and a half quarters of rocky performances. This locker room is aware of the pitfalls that have held back a team that is getting elite-level splash plays from its defense that has kept them in three of five games to begin the season.
It's not a coincidence that those three heroic performances by the defense also resulted in the Steelers' three wins heading into the Week 6 bye week.
Pickett is aware of this. He spoke in an open locker room Tuesday about the Steelers being willing to shave off certain plays while adding in new wrinkles to the play book in order to jump start improvements prior to a Week 7 matchup in Los Angeles against the Rams.
"You could do both," Pickett said at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "You can really look at it. We have to look at what we've done as a whole. There's some things that we're just really not doing well and if they're beating our head on the wall then let's take it out and not do it. If there's something we feel like we can add, we have guys that we could put in position to be successful, then let's add it. I think everything's on the table. It's having an open mind going into it."
The Steelers have produced five offensive touchdowns in five games, with zero coming from a run. Their 268.2 yards per game, 15.8 points per game, and 80.4 rushing yards per game are each 30th in the league.
There is a belief that the best is yet to come from this offense, as it was spoken on Monday. The statistics would minimally show that it's harder for it to be any worse than it has been. There have been smatterings of success in the forms of a successful two-minute drive against the 49ers, a Pickett bomb to Calvin Austin for a touchdown against the Raiders, and Jaylen Warren and Pickens' magic towards the end of the Ravens game. This offense has to not just become more consistent at moving the ball; it has to rework the philosophy altogether.
"We've shown flashes," Pickett said. "We haven't put it together for a full game, and that's always what you're hunting. We've definitely shown flashes of it. We haven't been consistent. So, that's what we're fighting to be: A more consistent team."
What has the Steelers' offense done well in the first five weeks of the season? Pickett's response:
"Giving our guys chances to make plays." he said. "I think, you know, putting guys in one-on-ones and myself putting the ball up for them and making plays. Getting better at operating the offense, being smooth, and putting us in third-and-manageable situations. Working the pocket, continuing to get better there. There's a lot of things, a lot of things to get better at, too. So I'm going to use this week to kind of take a step back from it and fine-tooth comb it and figure out what we need to do to get better."
Speaking of one-on-one situations and Pickett putting the ball up for a receiver to make a play, the heavily debated thought of Pickett audibling Pickens into his route that resulted in the touchdown in the fourth quarter Sunday was addressed.
Matt Canada was shown on the CBS broadcast seemingly unbothered by the biggest Steelers offensive play of the season, leaving public discourse over whether Canada called the play or if Pickett hot-routed Pickens.
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSvideos) October 8, 2023
Pickett claimed he audibled Pickens to run that route, though the play was worked on in practice leading up to Sunday's game.
"Yeah, it was the protection and the route," Pickett said. "They went zero (coverage), I wanted to make sure we protected and gave George the route. He went and made a great play. It was something we worked all week on. It's awesome when you put a lot of time into something in a crucial moment like that to win a divisional game. When you go out there and you do it in a two-minute drill, it's awesome."
So, yes, credit Canada for putting in a check that led to the successful play.
A couple of major pieces that will help the Steelers' offense will be the returns of Diontae Johnson and Pat Freiermuth. Johnson confirmed that, "hell yeah," he is on track to play in the first game out of the bye at the Rams after missing four weeks with a hamstring injury. Freiermuth could be out for some time after Johnson gets back, but he has not landed on injured reserve since injuring his hamstring against the Texans.
Johnson led the Steelers in targets in Week 1 until he left with his injury. Pickett is excited to have his top guy back.
"He's a really talented guy," Pickett said of Johnson. "We miss him a lot. He helps move the chains. He gets great separation. He's been a great teammate and leader in that room as well and helping guys out. So, getting him back is going to be massive for our offense. I think just by watching us, you can see that we've missed him. I think it'll help George out. It'll help Allen (Robinson) and (Austin), and kind of those guys have been really working hard and playing a lot of snaps. So I think it'll be great for us as a whole to get 18 back."
