Scoring is down everywhere, but not like it is for Steelers
Numbers are conjuring ghosts of 1998 and Ray Sherman
The Steelers aren’t the onlyteam in the NFL having a hard time lighting up the scoreboard. Scoring is down across the league this year. Through the first six weeks of the season, NFL teams are averaging 21.6 points per game. That’s down from 23.0 points per game in 2021 and 24.8 in 2020.
The Steelers are well below this year’s average and are careening toward a franchise-low this century if they don’t turn things around soon.They enter Sunday’s game at Miami 30th in the NFL in scoring, averaging 16.2 a game. They haven’t scored more than 23 points in any of their first six games, and their season high came in the seasonopening 23-20 overtime victory in Cincinnati.
The 16.2 average would be a historically low number for the Steelers. The previous time they averaged fewer than 17 points over the course of a full season was 1998, when they averaged 16.4. Ray Sherman was the offensive coordinator and resigned under pressure after just one season on the job.
Even when the Steelers had Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges play quarterback most of the season in 2019, they averaged 18.1 pointsper game.
There are plenty of reasons the Steelers are struggling to score. Like the 2019 season, they don’t have Ben Roethlisberger’s talent or experience to lean on. Mitch Trubisky started the first four games of the season, and now the Steelers are playing rookie Kenny Pickett.
Running back Najee Harris has struggled with a foot injury, and the Steelers are breaking in three new starters on the offensive line. But offensive coordinator Matt Canada isn’t making excuses. He said the offense has to find ways to score no matter which circumstances are presented to them.
“There will be ebbs and flows in our game as an offense that’s evolving and coming,” Canada said Thursday. “It’s not happeningfast enough.”
There have been some signs recently the Steelers are getting out of their offensive funk, albeit in baby steps. Against the Buccaneers, the Steelers scored a touchdown on their first drive of the game, the first time they did that since a game against the Lions last November.
In the fourth quarter, another long drought ended when Mitch Trubisky threw a touchdown pass to Chase Claypool. It was the first touchdownpass to a Steelers receiver all season.
“We’re starting to see some things, but it’s not enough,” Canada said. “We have to be more consistent. Obviously, every drive we’re trying to score touchdowns. Until we become as efficient and consistent as we need to be, we’re not going to be happy about that.
In that moment, you’re happy you scored, and you move onto the next one.”
Receiver Diontae Johnson led the Steelers with eight touchdowns last season. He’s been shut out in the first six games, and he’s well off his pace for receptions and yards, as well. Johnson said he hasn’t noticed any league-wide trends that are keeping scoring down, but part of the reason his production is down is how opposing defenses are playing against the Steelers.
“A lot of teams try to crowd my side and take me out,” Johnson said. “That leaves other guys with one-on-one matchups.”
Against the Buccaneers, it was Claypool who took advantage of single coverage. He had his best game of the season with seven receptions 96 yards.
Johnson leads the Steelers with 295 receiving yards, but Claypool, George Pickens and Pat Freiermuth all have225 yards or more.
“With the weapons we have, there probably should be games that should be like that,” Canada said. “We should have a game where a guy has a bunch if they’re doubling [Johnson] or they’re focused on George or Pat. That’s something that shouldn’t be all that uncommon, but obviously we have to have more productivity consistently, however it comes.”
Like Johnson, Canada hasn’t noticed defenses attacking offenses much differently this season. For the Steelers, it’s the little details — penalties and negative plays, first and foremost — that are preventing the offense from scoring more.
“I know we have to score more points, and that’s my only focus,” Canada said. “It’s hard to score. It’s hard for everybody, but that doesn’t matter. You have to find ways to score touchdowns. Every offense across the league is trying to do that.”