The Pittsburgh Steelers offense has been tough to describe so far in 2024. While the unit has not been outright bad, words like “underwhelming” and “bland” are good descriptors. Pittsburgh is 4-2, but they could easily be off to an undefeated start with just a hair more production from their offense. One specific area the Steelers offense can improve is creating more explosive plays. They have not exceled in that area, and improved explosiveness could help make their offense good enough to compete in the AFC.
Sluggish Steelers Offense Must Create More Explosive Plays
Why It Matters
So far on the season, the Steelers offense has been perfectly average at generating explosive plays, tied with the Cincinnati Bengals for the 16th-best explosive play rate in the league. For these purposes, an explosive play is defined as a run of 10+ yards or a pass of 20+ yards.
Explosive play rates through Week 6 pic.twitter.com/tCUqaXWZcr
— Football Insights 📊 (@fball_insights) October 15, 2024
Being in the middle of the pack doesn’t sound so bad for a Steelers offense that has been in the basement of just about every offensive statistic in recent years. However, Pittsburgh is not aiming to be an average team scrapping for a chance to make the playoffs. With their high-end defense, they are hoping to be real contenders in the AFC. They especially are aiming to end their playoff win drought that will soon reach eight years.
On the topic of being real contenders, there are currently 15 teams with better odds to win the Super Bowl this year than the Steelers, according to Fanduel Sportsbook. Of those 15 teams, 10 have a higher explosive play rate than the Steelers. And two of the five that don’t, the Houston Texans and New York Jets, are not far behind. The Kansas City Chiefs are an obvious outlier, but the oddsmakers are clear. Having an explosive offense is one of the biggest contributors to winning in the NFL. Currently, the Steelers offense is not an explosive one.
Will Russell Wilson Help?
Pittsburgh seems poised to make a change at quarterback, with Russell Wilson expected to start in Week 7 against the Jets. While there’s a strong argument for Justin Fields to remain the starter, the Steelers coaching staff knows they need to generate more big plays on offense. They haven’t been good enough in that area with Fields under center, and they might feel Wilson will do a better job at gaining yards in big chunks.
Mike Tomlin and company might think Wilson will help the team generate more splash plays, but they could be wrong in that assessment. On the season, the Steelers offense has been better at generating explosive runs than explosive passes. Note, this chart is using different criteria than the previous chart, with explosive plays being defined as any play that goes for 15+ yards.
Offensive and defensive explosive play rates:
The Ravens (2nd in explosive pass %) get to play the Bucs (26th in explosive pass % allowed) and the Bucs (3rd in explosive pass %) get to play the Ravens (32nd in explosive pass % allowed) next Monday night! 💥 pic.twitter.com/poDbZT3Q8Z
— Sam Hoppen (@SamHoppen) October 15, 2024
There is little reason to expect the Steelers to run the ball more explosively with Wilson under center. They will not call designed quarterback runs for Wilson like they have done for Fields. Those have been some of Pittsburgh’s more successful plays, too. Wilson also won’t scramble out of a broken pocket for first downs the way Fields has.
The argument in favor for Wilson is that he might get the ball downfield through the air more efficiently than Fields. That could be true, but he is working with the same abysmal group of receivers that Fields was working with. So, while Wilson could make the passing offense a little more explosive, his presence will almost certainly hinder the rushing offense, with the two effects likely netting out to no noticeable improvement.
Tough Week 7 Test for Steelers Offense
As shown in the above chart, the Jets defense has been one of the NFL’s best at preventing explosive plays, both on the ground and through the air. Week 7 will be a huge test for Wilson in his Steelers debut. If he is able to get the offense rolling against the vaunted Jets defense, it will be a promising sign for Pittsburgh moving forward. But if the offense remains stagnant, which it probably will, the discussions of whether or not swapping quarterbacks was a smart decision will only intensify.
Main Image: Barry Reeger – USA Today Sports
