"I have never seen the offense look this bad" - Stephen A. Smith rips into Steelers after a dismal show in Week 3
The Pittsburgh Steelers offense was abysmal in Week 3 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Don't let the box score fool you into thinking the game was close. The Steelers' offense scored just ten points despite outgaining the Bengals and having the ball for 11 more minutes.
Their offense played so poorly that Stephen A. Smith took a segment of "First Take" to rip into the Steelers. Smith is a lifelong Steelers fan who has seen them at their peak as well as their low points. Smith didn't hold back whatsoever, which is customary for him.
I’ve… never seen the Steelers offense this bad twitter.com/FirstTake/stat…
"Their offense is awful. I have never seen the Steelers offense look this bad. Ben Roethlisberger threw 13 passes behind the line of scrimmage. With Chase Claypool, with JuJu-Smith Schuster. With Ebron, with Diontae Johnson and James Washington. The leading receiver is Najee Harris and the reason he's catching the ball is because you can't run block for him. Ben Roethlisberger struggles to the football 20 plus yards."
Stephen A. Smith's take on his Steelers
During the television segment, Smith's point was given a dramatic effect with the addition of a bit of sad music playing in the background.
The Steelers' transition to new offensive coordinator Matt Canada was supposed to change their offense for the better. Instead, it's been an identical copy of last season's quick passing game that didn't lead to many points.
Ben Roethlisberger has thrown the ball quicker than any quarterback in the NFL this year. His offensive line hasn't done him or Najee Harris any favors this year either.
Lowest graded quarterbacks through Week 3 (PFF):
35) Davis Mills, 43.1
34) Trevor Lawrence, 46.6
33) Justin Fields, 48.4
32) Taylor Heinicke, 54.8
31) Ben Roethlisberger, 55.5
30) Tua Tagovailoa, 55.9
29) Zach Wilson, 56.9
28) Matt Ryan, 59.6 https://t.co/lUU9RN7Pft
The Steelers offense looks to improve
Smith called out the Steelers' biggest issues on offense. Roethlisberger threw 13 passes behind the line of scrimmage on 58 attempts. Most experts would agree that Roethlisberger shouldn't be throwing 58 times in a game when he's dealing with an injured pectoral muscle. But Canada didn't make any changes or adjustments to the offense, and that contributed to the result.
Roethlisberger threw the ball for just 6.2 yards per attempt and yet the offensive line hasn't protected him or opened up room for Harris to run. Harris is best at running outside the tackles but is averaging 3.1 yards per carry. He's also been forced to run inside the tackles more often than not.
Total QB Hits Allowed Through Week 3:
ARI: 7
PHI: 8
LAR, WAS: 11
TB: 12
CLE, TEN: 13
NYG: 14
JAX: 15
BAL, CAR, CIN, GB, HOU, KC, MIN: 16
DAL, SF: 17
DEN, SEA: 18
DET, LAC: 20
LV, NO: 21
ATL, BUF, MIA, NE: 22
PIT: 23
CHI: 24
NYJ: 26
IND: 31
Smith called out the Steelers for good reason. Their offense is averaging just 16.7 points per game, while Roethlisberger, who is already playing injured, isn't mobile at this stage in his career. In Week 3, the Steelers play the Green Bay Packers. The Packers' offense is likely to put up points, so the Steelers will have to keep pace.