Pittsburgh Steelers: Players appear to call out coaching staff after loss

Pittsburgh Steelers players appear to be openly criticising the play calling of the team’s offense after their recent loss to the New England Patriots. 

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a team that look to have all the pieces together of a team that can be a real force in the NFL for some time to come. Their defence speaks for itself, having led the league in sacks for 5 consecutive years thanks to the likes of T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward, and showed what a force they can be in their win over the Cincinnati Bengals by forcing 5 turnovers.

Meanwhile on offense they have the likes of Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool and Najee Harris who have shown a lot of promise in their short time in the league, whilst rookie wide receiver George Pickens showed glimpses in preseason that makes you think that he can be a playmaker in the future.

The one thing that is holding them back though is their offensive line, ranked amongst one of the worst in the league by some outlets. 

But a bad line doesn’t necessarily mean a disaster if you can gameplan around it, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for instance have had to deal with injuries to their men but have managed to start out 2-0, you just need to have a gameplan that makes up for your shortcomings.

For the Steelers though, that plan doesn’t seem all that inspiring.

As per Pro Football Reference, the Steelers rank 3rd bottom when it comes to both yards per game with just 255 and yards per play at 4.3, indicating a lack of explosive plays in their arsenal despite having a number of players that can make the plays happen.

Compare that with the teams at the top, the Buffalo Bills for instance are averaging 7.1 yards per play, and it’s clear to see that the offense is being too safe, perhaps as a result of