Halicke: How did this offense look different without Canada?

For the first time in 59 games, the Steelers put up more than 400 yards of offense. Matt Canada had 44 games as offensive coordinator of the Steelers, and not once did the team surpass that mark. It's objectively hilarious that the team broke this pathetic streak in the very first game after Canada was shown the door.

But, how did the Steelers do it? What was different? What was the same? We heard it all week that the offense couldn't be all that different. The playbook and language of the offense can't change. Not at this point in the season. But, it's obvious there were some differences. Despite scoring only 16 points, this offense looked like it belonged in the NFL for the first time in a long, long time.

I want to start with Kenny Pickett's performance, along with the overall passing game. This might have been Pickett's best game as a professional. It wasn't perfect, and there are still some things to clean up. But, if we can expect growth from Pickett sans Canada, the Steelers could really have something here.

First, the glaringly obvious difference was Pickett's passing chart:

NFL NEXT GEN STATS

I mean, the middle of the field had been a barren wasteland under Canada. Five completions between 1-10 yards from the line of scrimmage, then two more over the middle completed almost 20 yards downfield. We didn't see this under Canada.

Pickett averaged 6.4 air yards per completion on Sunday, which is 1.6 yards above his average for the season. And, he did that without losing too much aggressiveness on his throws. According to NFL's Next Gen Stats, 15.2% of Pickett's throws were in tight windows. Of the 15 quarterbacks that had a higher percentage in Week 12, nine threw interceptions. Pickett was shrewdly aggressive with his downfield throws, and he was accurate throughout the days on a myriad of throws. And, he did it without turning the ball over. This is more of what I expected from Pickett this season.

Coaching does play a role in this. The very first play of the game, the Steelers called four verticals to attack Cincinnati's tendency of running two-high shell looks, or Cover 2. Another way to describe Cover 2 is "middle field open," and four verticals is an aggressive way to attack the middle of the field:

There's just so much to love about this, and I included both the sideline and end zone views so you can see everything break down. Not only do I love the play call (because it attacks a defense's tendencies, which means the game plan was solid), Pickett's execution of this is perfect. He reads the linebackers dropping into coverage and sees the window that will be there for Pat Freiermuth. If you look closely from the end zone view, Pickett releases the ball when Freiermuth is still covered up. That's throwing with anticipation, and that will make everyone who loves good quarterback play rejoice. Pickett doesn't hesitate, rips the throw when his back foot hits, trusts his read, and throws a dot to Freiermuth for a big chunk on the first play of the game.

Though this is just one example, Pickett was accurate throughout the day and put together a complete performance. And, the analytics nerds at Pro Football Focus thought similar as Pickett was the third-highest graded quarterback in Week 12, with only Dak Prescott and Josh Allen ahead of him (those two are more than fair). Pickett's balance of aggressive throws, accuracy and actual completion percentage made him one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the NFL this week:

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This is a very encouraging game for Pickett. I'm not in the room, so I'm not going to pretend that I know if Canada had the handcuffs on Pickett or not. But, Pickett seemed much more free in the way he ran the offense and played overall. There are still some examples of needed improvement, probably no greater than this miss to George Pickens:

That's another chunk play, and maybe even more. Pickens has shown the ability to be pretty dangerous after the catch. I don't know if this is just a timing issue between Pickett and Pickens, but Pickett has missed his fair share of in-breaking routes as a pro. Pickett makes this throw in rhythm, and there is definitely pressure coming, but he gets the ball out before the blitzer hits home. This just looks like a miss. And, that really sucks because these type of concepts -- wrapping a dig behind a hitch, pivot or out route -- are great for beating these types of coverage while also giving the receivers room for yards after the catch.

Maybe this is why we keep seeing simpler, outdated concepts such as Hank still getting called on third-and-long:

What's funny about this is Freiermuth is open over the middle, which is typically the first read in Hank. And, Pickett looks at him, clutches and decides not to throw it, then opts for Connor Heyward in the flat. Nevertheless, these concepts need to be scrapped. Pickett can't rely on Hank as a go-to play in this league.

But, make no mistake, the complaining about Pickett in this performance should be minimal. Yes, there were a couple misses and a couple of other throws that could have used better ball placement, including a couple to Diontae Johnson that could have been touchdowns:

This is a good enough ball (and Mike Tomlin should have challenged the play), but Pickett's throw is still behind Johnson, and the little hitch he does forces him to be a tad late. This could be much better from Pickett. Johnson had three steps and possession of the ball. This should be six points.

Again, a tad late from Pickett, and this throw is behind Johnson. This throw needs to be right at the pylon. If it is, it's either a touchdown or gives the Steelers first-and-goal inside the 5-yard line.

Despite these couple of issues, Pickett was very decisive, consistently on time with his throws and rode the line between efficient and aggressive about as best as you can ask any quarterback in this league.

When it comes to the offense and overall scheme, I really loved what I saw from Eddie Faulkner in his first game as interim offensive coordinator. Of course, Mike Sullivan also deserves credit for calling a good game. However, the game plan had purpose throughout the afternoon. And, when the Bengals made adjustments to stifle the Steelers in the second quarter, the Steelers made their own in-game adjustments and scored their only touchdown of the game on the first drive of the second half.

That is coaching.

A couple of other things that stood out to me regarding coaching. First, there seemed to be more intent behind what the Steelers were doing. This was few and far between under Canada. However, in watching the film, I saw it throughout the game. On the aforementioned first play of the game, play-action helped freeze the Mike linebacker and open up the throwing window for Freiermuth.

Even on the simpler plays, little details can make all the difference:

Here, Allen Robinson is lined up initially in the fullback position in 'I' formation, then moves in motion to form a condensed 2x2. That one motion causes pre-snap chaos on the Bengals' defense, they never get set and Robinson has all the space he needs to catch and run for a first down.

Another nice little wrinkle on third-and-short:

Notice the formation. Not only is this the Steelers' pony package where Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren are on the field together, Darnell Washington is actually lined up as the right tackle, and Broderick Jones is lined up in the tight end spot outside of Dan Moore Jr. on the left side. Already, that is intentionally manipulating the defense into thinking either Warren is getting a jet sweep -- which the Steelers have done multiple times out of this formation -- or Harris will get the carry to the left side. Instead, the Steelers do a good job of disguising secret door No. 3: A throw to Warren in the flat to pick up the first down.

Regarding play-action, the Steelers averaged 5.2 play-action passes per game prior to Sunday. They ran nine play-action passes against the Bengals. You wanted more play-action, Faulkner and Sullivan delivered.

As for Harris' big day on the ground, one thing really leapt out off the page to me. The film was great, and you've seen the big runs from him by now, including this gem that deserves to be on repeat for the week:

But, the data told me a different, better story. Harris carried the ball a total of 15 times for 99 yards. Of those 15 carries, nine were gap concepts and six were zone concepts. Harris is predominantly a better zone runner. Coming into the game, Harris was averaging 4.31 yards per carry on zone runs and only 3.32 yards per carry in gap. On Sunday, Harris gained 65 of his 99 yards through gap concepts, an average of 7.22 yards per carry. Four of those runs were behind the Duo concept, and he gained 40 yards and scored a touchdown on those carries. Harris did that while also gaining 30 yards on four carries in Outside Zone, an average of 7.5 yards per carry.

At first, you might think the reason for that is because Cincinnati struggles in defending gap concepts, but the numbers are actually a tad better for the Bengals against gap over zone.

So, what led to this decision? Was this a conscious decision by Faulkner to see if Harris would fare better in more gap carries? After all, there isn't a coach that knows the running backs better than Faulkner, who still coaches the running backs in addition to his new duties as interim offensive coordinator.

We really don't know the answer to that question. We're not in the meetings on the South Side. But, whatever the reason was behind the decision, it bore fruit. It produced yards. Just as everything did with Pickett through the air.

Overall, I saw much more from this offense than I expected to see, especially since the Canada firing essentially made it a short week for the Steelers. The biggest takeaway I have is the Steelers attacking the opposing defense's tendencies; actually having a game plan. I seldom noticed an actual game plan under Canada. More of just trying to execute plays without rhyme or reason. 

In addition, the Steelers also made in-game adjustments, stayed ahead in the cat-and-mouse game, and eventually produced enough points to win the game. And, perhaps most importantly, the Steelers' first-round quarterback turned in his most complete performance in black and gold.

Now, there is still room to improve. 16 points isn't going to cut it. But, the solace here is the Steelers left 14 points out there, in my humble opinion. A challenge from Tomlin and a better throw from Pickett could have produced two additional touchdowns, which would have better represented how lopsided this game really was. 421 yards of offense could have easily engineered 30 points of offense.

This is still a work in development. But, as far as a first game goes with an interim coordinator taking over midseason, this is as good as it gets.