Knee-jerk analysis: Steelers break 58-game 400-yard skid in win over Bengals

It’s rather poetic that the Steelers broke the 58-game skid of not gaining 400 yards of offense in their first game after firing Matt Canada.

While the points still came at a premium, the offense looked more in synch than it ever has in the Kenny Pickett era. The passing game was better. It wasn’t great, but what did we talk about coming into this week? Utilizing the middle of the field. They did that right away with the pass to Pat Freiermuth, who had a huge game.

Overall, Pickett finished the day 24-of-33 for 278 yards and a passer rating of 97.8. That was as good as he’s ever looked. His showing in Week 3 against the Raiders is the only other comparable performance to this point. He threw a really good ball to Diontae Johnson, which was ruled incomplete after Johnson had it punched away. While we’re on that topic, let’s acknowledge the complete and inexcusable lack of effort by Johnson on the ensuing play where he stood still after the snap and watched the Jaylen Warren fumble roll away. For a guy who doesn’t mind voicing his frustrations, maybe he should act like he cares. That was the actions of a completely checked-out player, and it won’t surprise me one bit if and when he is traded in the offseason.

Now that that’s out of the way, back to the game.

Pickett also threw a really good pass to George Pickens on a slot fade that gained 43, as well as another deep shot to Johnson down the sideline for 39.

He did still have a few moments he would like back. There was a play where George Pickens was wide open coming across the field. He potentially would have taken it to the end zone for a long touchdown, and Pickett overthrew him. Those are the kinds of things he needs to get better at- hitting guys in stride when they are coming across the field. One performance isn’t near enough to say that he’s a franchise quarterback all of a sudden, but a solid game like that was a promising step in the right direction after a run of bad performances.

I mentioned his name already, but what a game for Pat Freiermuth. The third-year tight end had nine grabs for 120 yards, and was Pickett’s go-to target. Not only was he looked for early and often, he was getting the ball in a variety of ways. It wasn’t just three yard dump-offs, he was catching passes down the seam and getting big yardage as a result. It’s nice to see No. 88 back and performing at a high level.

The running game continues to be deadly. Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren combined for 148 yards on 28 carries, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. Warren had somewhat of a come-down game, only notching 49 yards, but Harris had a great day. He had a 20-yard run that looked dead in the mud at the five yard mark, but he kept his legs moving, and the offensive line kept pushing until Harris escaped the pile and rumbled for a big gain. Expect Kyle Brandt of Good Morning Football to have a t-shirt and staff for No. 22 this week.

As previously stated, it is frustrating to continue seeing a lack of points, but there was a clear change in the offense this week. Credit to Pickett, Eddie Faulkner, Mike Sullivan, and the entire unit for turning things around from last week’s dreadful showing.

Defensively, T.J. Watt as amazing, and played his way back into the Defensive Player of the Year conversation with two sacks, and additional tackle for loss, and a forced fumble. Watt also became just the second player in NFL history to reach 90 sacks in his first 100 career games, joining Reggie White as the only other player to do so.

Trenton Thompson continues to play very well. He had a big game last week against the Browns , and nearly had an interception. This week, he pulled in his first career pick in his second start, which set up the Najee Harris touchdown run. There’s many more players to touch on, but we’ll touch more on them tomorrow in Varsity & JV.

The defense has allowed just 23 points over two weeks. Regardless of who is at quarterback, that’s incredibly impressive. The offense breaking the 400-yard curse, and doing it this week after firing Canada made every fan around the world point at their televisions screaming “SEE, WE TOLD YOU!” Now at 7-4, the Steelers will return home in Week 13 to host the Arizona Cardinals with a golden opportunity to put a stranglehold on a Wildcard spot.