By: Brandon J. Wallace
SteelerNation.com
If you're anything like me, you were in complete shock and relief when the Pittsburgh Steelers' offense went from beyond bad in the first half, to impressively magnificent in the second half against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. The Steelers had just 95 yards of total offense at halftime before quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger finished the game 34/49 passing with 342 yards and 3 touchdowns through the air.
So, what changed? For a team that's only been averaging 16.3 points over the last three games, this offensive spark was long overdue. Steelers wide receiver, JuJu Smith-Schuster made it sound quite simple:
"First half, there was no energy there. Everyone was pretty much going with the flow. Came back at halftime and Ben [Roethlisberger] talked, [Maurkice] Pouncey said a few words, and it pretty much sparked us. We went out there and the defense set it off. Ben was just doing no-huddle, Randy [Fichtner] was calling plays, and we got the job done. It was more so about having energy and going back to having fun."
There's no way it's been as simple as just "having fun" right? With Roethlisberger's inconsistent play, offensive coordinator, Randy Fichtner being as scrutinized as he's been this season, and the countless number of dropped balls on offense, you would think the answer would reside elsewhere. Smith-Schuster continued:
"Pouncey made it more announced that it's all about having fun. We're not having fun out there. And he kept repeating it. He yelled it multiple times and put it in our head. That's what we did in the second half."
I'm not going to lie, that's a hard pill to swallow for me, but hey, if that's all this team needs to be doing to connect the dots on offense, then by all means! Have all the fun you can!
The Steelers finished the contest on Sunday against the Colts with 353 total yards, 26 first downs, and 0 turnovers! All something to build off of heading into the playoffs in two weeks.
What do yinz think? Has "fun" been missing from the offense, or something more? Sound off in the comment section below!
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