Steelers' Offensive Positional Group Gets Completely Thrown Under The Bus By Mike McCarthy

The Pittsburgh Steelers spent Friday night making life harder on their young quarterbacks, but the bigger concern may have been what happened before the ball ever reached them. Pittsburgh’s rushing attack never found much traction in a 17-0 loss to the New York Jets, and new head coach Mike McCarthy did not hide from the fact that the lack of balance made Drew Allar work uphill throughout the second half.

Allar followed his impressive preseason debut against the Green Bay Packers with a much rougher night. He completed 11 of 23 passes for 110 yards, took three sacks and never got Pittsburgh into the end zone. The box score looks like a rookie coming back to earth, but McCarthy’s postgame explanation pointed toward an offense that did not give him many comfortable downs to operate from. Pittsburgh rushed for only 98 yards on 26 carries and rarely forced New York to respect the run.

First and second down became the problem. When a run gets two yards instead of six, the defense gains freedom. Safeties can sit deeper, pass rushers can hunt more aggressively, and man coverage becomes easier to lean on because the offense has fewer believable answers attached to the next snap. Allar spent too much of the second half playing football with the defense holding more cards, which McCarthy acknowledged afterward while discussing what could have made the rookie’s night easier.

“A healthier run game would have helped him,” McCarthy said. “I think some more runaway routes on first and second down would’ve helped, vs man would’ve helped. Once again, there’s some play selection based off of where we are as far as repping our young guys, who’s in the game, routes certain guys ran.”

The first part of that answer should concern Pittsburgh beyond Allar. Preseason play-calling is intentionally weird. Coaches are evaluating backup linemen, rotating receivers and calling concepts because they want tape on a player rather than because the call sheet says it is the perfect answer. The run game is different. Pittsburgh still needs to see blockers create movement and backs reach the second level often enough to keep a defense honest.

Kaleb Johnson led Pittsburgh with 39 yards on 10 carries, but nobody in the backfield turned the game into one where New York had to start squeezing extra bodies toward the line. The Steelers averaged 3.8 yards per carry overall, a number that looks acceptable until the rhythm of the offense is considered. Too few runs changed the next down or forced the Jets to rethink how they were defending the pass.

The concern is not entirely new. Pittsburgh’s offensive overhaul entered camp with questions about how the run game would function outside the heavy packages that produced many of the team’s best rushing results last season. McCarthy’s offense is expected to feature more spread formations and more receiving threats. The Steelers still have to prove they can move people without constantly calling for an extra offensive lineman to join the party.

Against the Jets, that answer was not convincing. The offensive line rotated combinations throughout the night, which naturally limits cohesion, and Pittsburgh was evaluating young players rather than building a regular-season game plan around one back. McCarthy understands all of that. His wording still made clear he wanted more help from the ground game before Allar was asked to solve repeated passing situations.

The route comment connects directly to the rushing issue. “Runaway” concepts against man coverage can let receivers keep moving across the field and give the quarterback cleaner leverage to throw toward. They become especially useful when a defense has to honor play-action or hesitate because the run game is producing. If New York does not fear the handoff, the quarterback loses some of the hesitation those concepts are designed to exploit.

Allar still owns his part of the performance. He missed throws, held the ball too long on some snaps and was not as decisive as he looked against Green Bay. McCarthy was providing context, not issuing a presidential pardon. Pittsburgh has to separate the rookie mistakes from the problems created by the offense around him.

Steelers Do Need A Stronger Run Game

The preseason is supposed to expose weak spots before September starts charging interest, and Pittsburgh just received a fairly clear one. The Steelers cannot expect their quarterbacks to consistently play on schedule if first and second down keep producing obvious passing situations.

The issue becomes more important once the regular season arrives. Pittsburgh will have better personnel on the field and a game plan designed to win rather than evaluate, but the basic equation stays the same. A functional run game forces defenses to hesitate. An ineffective one lets them tee off, crowd throwing lanes and turn every third down into a small hostage negotiation.

McCarthy can help with play selection, and he admitted Allar could have received more favorable concepts Friday. The offensive line can improve as the combinations settle, and the backs can create more when the blocking gives them a clean start. None of those fixes require pretending the Jets game was meaningless simply because the standings will forget it.

Allar had a rough night, but he did not have much help from the part of the offense designed to make a young quarterback’s job simpler. McCarthy noticed it, and Pittsburgh now has one preseason game left to show the run game can do more than simply exist between passes.

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