There was no shortage of drama during the Pittsburgh Steelers wild Week 1 win against one of their division rivals, the Cincinnati Bengals. Missed field goals, blocked extra points, multiple forced turnovers and a long snapper injury all played into the organization sneaking away with a 23-20 victory. It was far from perfect, though. Pittsburgh's offense looked bad the majority of the game and even with the five turnovers, the team managed to barely sneak by in the final minutes of overtime. Statistically, certain players didn't really stand out, but there were some telling team numbers that should be cause for concern for head coach, Mike Tomlin.
Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin at Heinz Field during the 2021 regular season. | Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
1.) Steelers Offensive Points Off Turnovers
Technically, 17 of the team's 23 points came off turnovers, but seven of those were thanks to the pick-6 of Minkah Fitzpatrick in the first quarter. The offense was only able to muster up 10 points off of the other four the defense forced. Averaging less than a field goal off of turnovers in a game is pretty bad. The defense, even with T.J. Watt sidelined for about six weeks, is going to continue to make plays so the offense needs to capitalize when given the chance.
The Steelers should have put up 27+ points against the Bengals given the great field position they received throughout the game. Not a single turnover forced led to the offense having to travel more than 79 yards to the end zone and two of them were right around midfield. Tomlin's team has a chance to surprise a lot of people this year, but only if the offensive unit can make use of the defense's aggressive play.
2.) Time Of Possession
A win’s a win, but the fact that the Steelers came away with a victory after only controlling the clock for 26:17 is remarkable. Tomlin mentioned in his weekly press conference on Tuesday that when you get a pick-6, it will effect stats of this nature, but the Bengals were only on their second play from scrimmage. The Steelers first drive was actually longer than Cincinnati's first one. Pittsburgh will find themselves getting blown out if this trend were to continue.
Steelers offensive coordinator, Matt Canada and starting quarterback, Mitch Trubisky (#10) on the field at Acrisure Stadium prior to a 2022 preseason game. | Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
There are several dangerous offenses on the team's schedule and five turnovers tied in with an injured long snapper won't come around again. The offense has a new leader in Mitch Trubisky, a reworked offensive line and many new faces, but controlling so little of the clock in a game that went 75 minutes long is not encouraging. One of the main reasons the offense was unable to hold onto the football was because of the rushing attack, or lack there of.
3.) Yards Per Rushing Attempt, Specifically The Running Backs
Another year and the same issue persists for the Steelers offense in Week 1. Najee Harris only averaged 3.9 yards per carry a season ago and on Sunday, the unit only averaged 3.4 yards per rush. If we take out Chase Claypool's six carries for 36 yards and Trubisky's three rushes for nine yards, Harris and Jaylen Warren had 13 carries for 30 yards. That is a horrible mark at 2.3 yards per rush. This concern and #2 on this list go hand in hand. If the Steelers want to control more clock, it starts with the run game.
Steelers running back, Jaylen Warren (#30) warms up prior to a 2022 preseason game at Acrisure Stadium. | Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
This is even more important if Trubisky has 17 incompletions like he did on Sunday. Handing the ball away so quickly is tiring for any defensive unit. Pittsburgh's defense held up well on Sunday, but that kind of stamina won't last an entire season. Offensive coordinator, Matt Canada needs to trust his offensive line and commit to running the football in order to maximize the capabilities of the offense. Having 13 total designed running plays, combined, for all of your running backs is a horrible approach.
4.) Penalties
One of the main reasons Cincinnati was able to hang around on Sunday was the yellow flag. The funny thing is that only one of the penalties called was on the offense. Dan Moore Jr. was flagged for holding. All others came on the defense or special teams. If some of the calls were avoided, this game would have been every ugly for Cincinnati. When you have a team that isn't as talented as some of your opponents, like the Steelers will be this year, mistake-free football is the most effective way of remaining in games consistently.
What are you most concerned with when you look at Sunday's box score? Let us know in the comments below!
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