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Steelers Film Room: Takeaways From a Positive Offensive Performance

The Pittsburgh Steelers ended their losing streak, partially thanks to an impressive offensive showing.

Derrick Bell

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During the bye week, we wondered what changes the Pittsburgh Steelers offense would make in order to try to turn things around for the second half of the season. While it wasn't exactly fireworks, they did move the ball and put some points on the board, tying their season-high of 20 points against the New Orleans Saints. 

After rolling through the All-22 this morning, here are some of the takeaways from the film room. 

Welcome Back, Najee Harris

Saying that this game against the Saints was Harris's best of the season would be an understatement. In the first half, the second-year running back broke a huge 36-yard gain on a cutback with the Steelers running split zone from the shotgun, running over defenders in the process. 

Harris simply looked more decisive on the day, understanding when he needed to be patient and when he needed to put his foot in the ground and get north. 

As if averaging nearly 5.0 yards per carry wasn't enough, Harris also stood out in pass protection. 

There were two separate occasions where he was able to identify and neutralize free blitzers up the middle. His only target came on a wheel route near the end zone which could've been caught, but he was still able to be a factor in the passing game due to his blocking. 

After a disappointing sophomore campaign to date, here's hoping this performance catapults him back on track. 

Diontae Johnson and George Pickens Tore Up Man Coverage

Entering the week, I mentioned that the Saints played more man coverage than any team in the NFL and that led me to feeling pretty confident that the Steelers receivers would have their way. 

Due to factors outside of their control, the numbers weren't really indicative of how much trouble these two caused the Saints' boundary corners. 

Johnson tormented Saints corner Paulson Adebo multiple times throughout the game and Pickett hit him on a go ball down the right sideline in the second half for their longest play from scrimmage.

The book has been out on Johnson for quite some time as he's well known at this point for being one of the best separators against man coverage. But we can't forget about George Pickens either. With him in the fold, Pittsburgh legitimately has two receivers that can beat press coverage with ease, and that's a luxury that not many teams are fortunate enough to possess. 

Whether it was running in breaking routes or trying to win vertically, Pickens had an impressive day on film despite a limited number of targets. With two dynamic weapons on the outside, Pittsburgh is in good shape for the foreseeable future.

Kenny Pickett's Uneven Day

Pickett's day was up and down for a plethora of reasons. 

Let's start with the positives which mostly revolve around Pickett's ability to make plays as a runner. The rookie caught the Saints in their patented 2-man look in the second half and decided to call his own number, to the tune of a 23-yard run. He also converted on a couple of quarterback sneaks which moved the chains. 

He was accurate and decisive on quick game passing concepts which he struggled with at times against Philadelphia. Likely a point of emphasis from the coaching staff, he took good care of the football. After a dangerous pass on an out route to Pat Freiermuth early in the game, he played clean football and didn't turn the ball over for the second time all season.

While it was nice to see Pickett air it out a bit more on Sunday (7.7 average depth of target), the results weren't great when he did, as he was just 1-5 on throws that traveled further than 15 yards down the field. 

He's still a bit hesitant to pull the trigger on throws in between the numbers or into tight windows down the field. The Saints did a nice job throwing a bunch of pre-snap disguises his way which caused some confusion as you'd expect from a rookie. 

Overall, he left a couple of big plays on the field but did finish with his first positive EPA (expected points added) game as a starter, which is progress nonetheless. 

Kevin Dotson's Struggles Continue

Personally, I'm past the point of hoping that Dotson returns to the promising player that he looked like as a rookie in 2020. Even if we aren't expecting an impact player at this juncture, it's not unreasonable to ask for quality play. We haven't gotten that much this season from Dotson and this week was more of the same, unfortunately. 

Pass pro has typically been where Dotson makes his money, but there were times against the Saints when he looked lost and confused. 

On first down, he was beaten for a sack inside the red zone where he was caught lunging and off balance. There was at least one other time where it looked like he was at fault in terms of not understanding his assignment and sliding the wrong way in pass pro. 

The left side of the offensive line is very clearly bogging this unit, and if the Steelers are going to turn this thing around this season, that needs to change. Regardless, upgrades and left tackle and left guard should be high on the priority list for Omar Khan in the offseason. 

Some Props for Matt Canada 

In the effort of being fair, Canada (and whoever else was involved, potentially Mike Sullivan) deserves some credit for his play calling and the game plan, both of which were rock solid. 

It wasn't anything ground-breaking. They didn't light the world on fire or anything, but it was progress nonetheless. 

This was the most that I've seen crossers implemented into the offense since the Patriots game in Week 2. In his post-game presser, Pickett mentioned that they ran more in breaking routes which were evident on film even when the results weren't always there. It seemed like they were also more bunch receiver looks, cutting the field in half for Pickett. He even called a play-action play from the gun where the linebacker bit on the fake and Pickett threw right behind him.

There were also plenty of half-field triangle reads for the quarterback which made life pretty easy for Pickett in the quick game. They ran the spot concept multiple times, the last of which went to Jaylen Warren on third down in the red zone that resulted in a first down. 

At the end of the film session, I came away with the notion that Canada gave Pickett the necessary answers for the looks he was seeing on the majority of snaps which is what you long for in an offensive coordinator. If not for missed opportunities down the field, they could have scored at least one more touchdown. 

All of the things above are what we've been begging for. There's still a long way to go before anyone should begin clamoring for him to return for a third season, but it doesn't feel fair to not acknowledge the progress post-bye week. 

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Derrick Bell
DERRICK BELL

Derrick Bell is a University of Louisville grad who's covered the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2019. Prior to AllSteelers, Derrick contributed to Steel City Blitz. 

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