Steelers Stock Still Down Despite Massive Improvement On Offense In Week 12 According To Former NFL QB Dan Orlovsky

The Pittsburgh Steelers seem to have gotten a huge boost in Week 12 by replacing much-maligned Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada with the two-headed duo of Eddie Faulkner and Mike Sullivan. Kenny Pickett threw for the second-highest total passing yards in a game of his career (278), and Najee Harris had 99 yards on 15 carries as the team posted its first 400-yard game since Ben Roethlisberger retired. Despite all of the on-paper improvements, one popular former NFL quarterback who has made his way into the media at ESPN was not in awe of what the Steelers were able to do when they beat the Cincinnati Bengals 16-10 on Sunday afternoon. 

Dan Orlovsky played in 298 career games as a quarterback in the NFL with the Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Since retiring, he has moved to the media world and has been very vocal in criticism of Canada's offense through his tenure in the Steel City. He even generously offered some tips for how the next coordinator could improve the offense around the time of the announcement of Canada's dismissal. Despite a game where many people saw Pittsburgh's offense take a step forward, Orlovsky isn't buying it. 

"No," he said emphatically as to whether this was a different looking Pittsburgh offense. "Other than Pat Freiermuth, and they did throw the ball down the middle. The connection with tight ends that certainly showed up. But the lack of details was still prominent and the predictability was still prominent." 

Not to destroy Orlovsky's position here, but the emergence of tight ends in the game was a significant change for Pittsburgh's offense this week. Pat Freiermuth has dealt with a few different injuries this season, some of which have kept him out of the line-up. Entering this game, the Penn State product had nine catches for 60 yards and two touchdowns. In this one contest alone, he had nine receptions on 11 targets for 120 yards. He doubled his total for the season in one game. 

It wasn't just Freiermuth who got involved this week either, as Faulkner and Sullivan seem more intent than Canada ever was at getting them involved in the game. Connor Heyward caught two balls for 11 yards and Darnell Washington got in on the action catching one for a 10-yard gain. 

Orlovsky pulled up a few plays to illustrate his point about the lack of detail, especially in Pickett's lack of a connection with Diontae Johnson. That's been a relationship that both have worked on, but is still not quite on the level it needs to be. That's understandable however, given the time Johnson has missed this season.

On a third and four in the middle of the second quarter, Johnson ran about a five-yard in cut and settled into a zone. Pickett threw the ball way outside anticipating that Johnson was going to be coming back out. The communication errors between the two have been noticeable this season, but haven't necessarily stopped Johnson from being effective. 

"Quarterback throws one route, the receiver runs another route," Orlovsky said. "That's been the story of this season. How many times does this have to continue itself in Pittsburgh?"

Orlovsky pointed to another play on a second with five to go where Pittsburgh ran a play-action pass and Pickett threw a swing route to Jaylen Warren who was swallowed up for a loss when he could've hit Washington wide open for a modest gain. It was a tough read by Pickett who gave Warren no room to run on the throw as he was met quickly by a gang of Bengals defenders. Pittsburgh was forced to punt at the end of the drive. 

Steelers Still Made Improvements Despite Orlovsky's Nitpicking

Pittsburgh only scored 16 points, so there is still room for improvement. But for Orlovsky to say that it's not a different offense is a bit harsh. Pickett didn't get credit for throwing what should've been a touchdown to Johnson on the Steelers' second possession of the game and tied a career-high completion percentage in a game he started 72.73. He also continued his now franchise record steak of not turning the ball over. 

For the first time all season, Pittsburgh ran a truly balanced attack with over 200 yards passing and 100 yards rushing. Orlovsky is right that they still have some plays to tighten up, but that could be done with almost any team. Orlovsky might not be buying it, but that was a different Steelers offense on Sunday. 

Do you agree with Orlovsky that it was more of the same from Pittsburgh's offense on Sunday against the Bengals? Comment below!

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