The Pittsburgh Steelers walked away from the 2022 NFL Draft feeling like they had gotten their franchise quarterback in Kenny Pickett, and a large component of Pickett as a prospect was that he was supposed to be the most NFL-ready in the 2022 draft class. After a positive end to the 2022 season that left the Steelers barely on the outside of the playoffs, 2023 was all about Pickett's regression and how much of that had to do with now-fired offensive coordinator Matt Canada.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers new Offensive Coordinator Eddie Faulkner and play-caller Mike Sullivan found success in their 2023 Week 12 plan and came away with a divisional victory
With the Steelers' offense ranked 28th in scoring going into their 2023 Week 12 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, everyone wanted to know how much Canada's removal would impact the team. According to Pickett, it brought challenges, but the team rallied to get their offense back on track.
Steelers Pickett Said It Felt Like A Short Week
Week 11 of 2023 was a dark one for the Steelers as they fell to the Cleveland Browns while barely making a whimper on offense. After years of struggling offensively under Canada, Mike Tomlin had finally seen enough, and on Tuesday following their Week 11 loss, Canada was relieved of his duties as offensive coordinator.
Crowds had been chanting and calling for Canada's firing for quite some time, but in recent weeks, the fervor seemed to ramp up. The lack of offensive production was embarrassing, and for such a proud franchise, it wasn't acceptable. That doesn't mean the team would simply gel together without issue now that Canada was gone. In fact, when Pickett spoke to the media following their 2023 Week 12 victory over the Bengals, he said the dismissal made it feel like a shorter week than it was. The young quarterback was asked whether this was one of the more strange weeks he'd experienced in his short NFL career.
"I'd say so. I mean, it's a lot of adversity, a lot of things going on, moving parts, but like I said, it was -- it felt like a short week, almost, cause, you know, when we got the news and how quickly we all had to kind of react to what happened, and flush it and move on and get ready to go this week. So, you know, hats off to our guys in our locker room that did that."
It certainly wasn't a small event, considering the last time an in-season coaching change happened in Pittsburgh it was during the 1941 campaign. Pickett and the offense knew that they would be under the microscope, and yet, under a great deal of pressure, they put together a fluid, cohesive gameplan that obviously took every single player into account. For the first time in the 2023 season, Steelers fans got to watch an offense that built on itself throughout the game, had consistent drives that allowed the defense to rest, and looked like the talented group we all saw in the 2023 preseason.
Joe Sargent / Getty Images
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett credited Mike Sullivan for excellent communication during their 2023 Week 12 divisional victory
Steelers' Pickett Credits Close Relationship With Mike Sullivan
The Steelers tried a few different approaches to the offensive issues by putting Canada on the sidelines instead of his usual perch in the booth. However, when the two-game winning streak against the Green Bay Packers and Tennessee Titans came to a sharp halt against the Browns in Week 11 of 2023, enough was enough.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterbacks Coach Mike Sullivan took over play-calling duties after Matt Canada's firing, and their success in Week 12 of 2023 speaks to his bond with Kenny Pickett
For their 2023 Week 12 matchup against the Bengals, instead of Canada, the Steelers utilized the duo of Eddie Faulkner and Mike Sullivan to craft and call the plays for the offense. With Faulkner putting together the gameplan and Sullivan doing the play-calling on Sunday, Pickett looked like a different quarterback - the one the Steelers saw when they took him in the 2022 NFL Draft - and the results proved it. The Steelers' offense hadn't achieved a game with 400 yards of offense since the 2020 season, but against the Bengals on Sunday, Pittsburgh put up 421 offensive yards.
Pickett, following their 2023 Week 12 win, spoke highly of the bond he had with Sullivan and how it helped the offense find success after being asked how different the offense felt with the dual approach being taken.
"Kind of flow of calls, like how coach Sully [Mike Sullivan] likes to call games, and our communication on the sideline's great. Which, he's been there, you know, my right-hand man since I got here. So, the communication's always been good with coach Sully, and it's just, now that he has to call the plays, it's obviously just an adjustment, but felt like we handled it really well."
Considering the lack of offensive cohesion throughout the 2023 season, being able to come away from a game knowing that the offense legitimately gave the defense everything they needed to succeed has been sorely missed in Pittsburgh.
Watching a highly-paid defense get hung out to dry week after week was painful, but seeing the resurgence and resilience from this talented offensive group will hopefully be an inspiration to continue this forward motion. The 2023 season still has a ways to go, and there is plenty of space in the AFC playoffs for this kind of Steelers team, as long as Week 12 of 2023 wasn't a fluke.
Will the firing of Canada be enough for the 2023 Steelers to overtake the Ravens in the AFC North?
#SteelerNation
