How do the Pittsburgh Steelers become more of a force in the AFC with so many talented, polished teams around them? The Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills have already made their marks as steady contenders, while teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Chargers have plenty of fire power as well. The method for winning in Pittsburgh has always been defense and while these franchises are good enough on that side to get by, it is their offenses that have allowed them to generate some buzz throughout the league. Recently retained offensive coordinator, Matt Canada needs to take a lesson.
Steelers offensive coordinator, Matt Canada takes a look at a play call sheet on the field at a practice during 2022 training camp at St. Vincent College. | Photo credit: Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
While Kansas City and Patrick Mahomes prepare for a Super Bowl, the Bengals and Joe Burrow as well as Buffalo and Josh Allen all had a simple, yet important statistic in 2022 that landed in the top 13 in the league. All averaged at least 7.3 per pass attempt while Pittsburgh's rookie quarterback, Kenny Pickett landed at 33rd with an average of 6.2.
All three offenses were in the top 10 in terms of scoring. They were also in the top 30% of the league in red zone touchdown percentage which was a category that the Steelers found themselves at the bottom of the NFL, converting less than 52% of the time. For reference, the Chiefs found the end zone nearly 70% of the time once they entered the red area.
Do you think the correlation between top teams in the AFC stops there? Nope. The Chiefs led the entire NFL in first downs. Not to mention, the Bills and Bengals were the second and third best offenses in the conference within the category.
Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett (#8) drops back in minicamp during his first off-season with the team. | Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers Offense Landed In Top 10 Of Seemingly Irrelevant Category
Interestingly enough, all three AFC powerhouses were not in the top 10 in offensive plays run while the Steelers were. This emphasizes the lack of importance in terms of winning the 'plays run' battle. The goal is to be explosive and get the ball in the end zone. Pittsburgh doesn't do that often and the organizations in the way of competing for a Super Bowl do.
Let's not completely knock Pittsburgh, though. The offense absolutely needs to get significantly better in the categories above, but the unit was fourth behind those three juggernauts in third down efficiency. That's a huge category to succeed in and building off that while getting better throwing the ball down field, scoring six in the red zone, putting points on the board in general and getting past the sticks on first and second down is a recipe for success.
The group offensively for the Steelers is young and there are plenty of areas to improve. No one was expecting a dominant season in 2022, but it is pivotal for the unit to show significant and cohesive strides going forward.
Steelers Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada. | Photo Credit: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The bottom line is this: if an organization wants to be highly competitive in the AFC in 2023 and going forward, the highest paid defense in the league will help, but won't get you there. The offenses and the playmakers surrounding them are so talented that no defense can remain stout enough to prevail longterm. Just ask the San Francisco 49ers of the NFC. The league's best defense got dismantled in the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Do you think this is the recipe for success in the AFC? Let us know in the comments below!
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