The Pittsburgh Steelers offense has been a work in progress for the entirety of the 2023 NFL regular season. At the beginning of the season, they were easily one of the worst offenses in the league. The unit hasn't changed all that much, except over the last two weeks in both Week 9 and in Week 10 in which they've been running the ball very effectively. The Steelers are preparing for a matchup with the Cleveland Browns in Week 11, and Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada hopes the offense doesn't have a repeat performance of their first game against Cleveland.
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Steelers' George Pickens celebrates a 71-yard touchdown against the division rival Cleveland Browns in Week 2.
Steelers' Canada Optimistic Of Offense Against Cleveland
The Steelers won their Week 2 game against the Browns by a score of 26-22, where the Pittsburgh defense outscored the offense. The Steelers had just 255 yards of total offense in the game, and couldn't get anything going aside from a 71-yard touchdown pass from Kenny Pickett to George Pickens. Other than that single big play, the Steelers were only able to muster up 55 rushing yards and struggled to move the ball for the entire game. Canada spoke about why the Steelers offense was stagnant in Week 2 and his hope that the offense can move the ball more effectively in Week 11.
"Every game is different, and I say that all the time all we got to do is try to win the game. Obviously coming into Week 2 we had a really, not a good performance coming out of Week 1 and had to jump in there and play a really good defense. Obviously I hope we're improving, I think we're getting better at some things, but all that will matter at the end of the game on Sunday is if we win or if we lose."
The Steelers had a difficult matchup in Week 1 against the San Francisco 49ers, who are one of the better teams in the NFL. Pittsburgh lost the game by a score of 30-7, and Canada insinuates that having that tough matchup and a rough offensive performance in Week 1 attributed to the poor showing against Cleveland the next week.
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Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett faced heavy pressure all game during the team's home opener against the San Francisco 49ers.
Cleveland also has possibly the best defense in the entire NFL. They have a Defensive Player Of The Year candidate in Myles Garrett, who is tied for the league lead in sacks with 11. They are allowing just about 92 rushing yards a game and 151 passing yards a game. The Steelers' newly found rushing attack will have a difficult task running the ball, but the offensive line has started to find some success ever since rookie Broderick Jones was inserted into the starting lineup.
The Browns' Achilles heel this season has been mistakes made by their offense. Despite their impeccable defense, the offense has turned the ball over a lot and currently has the team sitting in the negatives in the turnover margin. Cleveland will be starting rookie quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who has started just one game this year. In Thompson-Robinson's lone start, he threw three interceptions and the Browns were blown out by the Baltimore Ravens by a score of 28-3. The Steelers defense will have a good chance to get takeaways and set the offense up with good field position.
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The Steelers defense gets a sack against the Cleveland Browns.
This was the same recipe that led the Steelers to victory in Week 2. The Steelers caused four takeaways in the game, three fumbles and an early interception. On the first offensive play ran by the Browns, Alex Highsmith intercepted Deshaun Watson and returned it for a touchdown. Highsmith made another impressive play in the fourth quarter when the Steelers were trailing 22-19. He sacked Watson and caused a fumble, which TJ Watt scooped up and returned 16 yards for a touchdown. This was the last score of the game and it secured the victory for Pittsburgh.
Watt and Highsmith will surely be doing all they can to make Thompson-Robinson's job difficult. As long as the Steelers offense plays mistake-free football and can move the ball better than they did in Week 2, the Steelers will have a good chance of winning this divisional matchup.
What do you think about the Steelers offense going into Week 11? Let us know in the comments below!
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