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When it comes to scoring points, few NFL teams have been as consistent as the Pittsburgh Steelers this season.
The Steelers set a franchise record scoring at least 24 points in every game while also setting a 10-0 record that represents the best start in franchise history.
Only the New Orleans Saints can claim to have scored at least 24 points in every game this year. Such consistency allowed the Steelers to place fourth in the NFL and second in the AFC behind defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in points per game.
Not bad considering how the Steelers struggled to find the end zone last year without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for the last 14 games.
Still, they’re no more satisfied than a golfer who comes within inches of making a hole-in-one.
“We want to be an attack so that when we touch the ball we can score anytime and anytime,” tight end Eric Ebron said on Tuesday. “There are offenses that can do that. If we are to ultimately achieve our goal, we must do so. I’m not saying our offense is bad. We are not doing any harm statistically. We just want to do better. ”
Despite relatively easy 36-10 and 27-3 wins over Cincinnati and Jacksonville, respectively, over the past two weeks, 12 practices in those games have ended with punter Jordan Berry on the field.
That’s too much, Roethlisberger lamented Sunday after the offense produced points on just five of 13 possessions against the Jaguars 1-9.
“We need to put more points on the board,” Roethlisberger said. “I know the scoreboard says what it does, but we’ve played too many times today and we haven’t done enough.
Roethlisberger clarified his position on Tuesday.
“It’s not about other teams or rankings,” he said. “We don’t care about the standings, the number of points per game or the percentages in the third down. We just want to be the best we can be. When I made that post-game comment, I felt like we just left things there, not because we didn’t hit the 30 point mark or didn’t X, Y and Z did. It was just like we could have done it. more.”
The Steelers are averaging 347.8 yards per game, which ranks in the bottom half of the NFL at No. 21. But the Steelers are among the highest-rated teams in the league as they have converted nearly 70% of their trips inside the red zone in touchdowns.
Still, the Steelers believe the offense didn’t do enough to maintain the perfect team record.
“I think what’s disappointing for the guys is that when you go back and study and watch the tape you realize that just one mistake in one person’s group attack makes you go backwards. the whole group, ”said offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner. “Playing without penalty, doing the things that don’t require any skill – line up the right way, follow the right track, execute the right technique and the fundamentals of a racing pattern, that sort of thing (matters).”
Former coordinator Todd Haley has already set a goal of 30 points in a game he believed to be achievable for the Steelers offense. The Steelers have never averaged that number under Haley or Fichtner despite spending six of the past seven years in the top 10 in scoring. They topped at 27.3 points per game in 2014.
A year after being the only NFL team not to score 30 points in a game – they averaged 18.1 – the Steelers have exceeded that plateau three times this season. With Roethlisberger returning from right elbow surgery and the addition of Ebron and rookie wide receiver Chase Claypool, the Steelers are averaging 29.8 points in 11 weeks. The Chiefs 9-1 are the NFL’s first with 32.1 points per game.
“I can see where the benchmark you always talk about is maybe 30 and up,” Fichtner said. “I don’t know the number, but I know the higher the number, the more chances we have of winning. That’s all I really want to know.
Joe Rutter is a staff writer for Tribune-Review. You can contact Joe by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .
Categories:
Sports | Steelers / NFL
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