Last week where head coach Mike Tomlin made a switch at offensive coordinator, firing Matt Canada and replacing him with Eddie Faulkner and quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan, who is now the game day play-caller.
It was also reported that wide receiver Diontae Johnson and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick got into a pretty heated argument following last Sunday’s last-second 13-10 road loss to the Cleveland Browns.
Fast-forward to Sunday, and Mike Tomlin once again found a way to galvanize the troops and get a huge division road win at the Joe Burrow-less Cincinnati Bengals.
Not only did the Steelers get the win, but they also reached an offensive milestone they hadn’t seen in the previous 58 games. For the first time since Week 2 of the 2020 season, the Steelers eclipsed the 400 total yards plateau.
Tomlin Is HIM
What’s even more astonishing is how Tomlin managed to win as many games as he did despite a below-average offense. In a league where gaining 400 yards weekly is an easy as it’s ever been, to not have one game with that amount for over three-and-half seasons is unheard of.
But somehow Tomlin led the Steelers to a 34-23-1 record during that drought, which is another credit to the master class coaching we’ve come to see weekly from the future Hall of Famer, one who should be in the thick of the NFL Coach of the Year race. It’s an award he surprisingly has never won despite no losing seasons in 16 years as a head coach.
In totality, the Steelers, who’ve been led by their dominant defense all season, finished with 421 yards.
Kenny Pickett Looks Comfortable In New Offense
Second-year QB Kenny Pickett looked more comfortable with the coordinator change, going 24-of-33 for 278 yards, his best game of the season. Tight end Pat Freiermuth added a career-high nine receptions for 120 yards. And running backs Najee Harris and Jayen Warren combined for 148 yards on 28 carries.
The always even-keeled Tomlin didn’t make the 400-yard day a big deal. In fact, he downplayed it as he talked to reporters in his postgame presser.
“I’m not trying to paint with a broad brush and act like eureka,” Tomlin said. “We did what we needed to do to win today, and we’ll keep on pushing.”
Steelers Offense Looked Much Different Sunday
After 44 consecutive games of Matt Canada’s conservative approach on offense, where there were very few deep shots taken, and much of the offense was within 5 to 7 yards of the line of scrimmage, Sunday was different.
Sullivan and Faulkner had many more deep shots and downfield passing in the game plan, and what it did was open up running lanes for the aforementioned Harris and Warren.
No one will ever mistake this unit for an elite one, but for the Steelers defense and fan base, this is hopefully a step in that direction.
