Pittsburgh Steelers Shake Things Up with Bold Moves to Spark Offense and Save Season

Pittsburgh Steeler’s Offensive Coordinator, Arthur Smith in game. Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New York Jets on Oct. 20, 2024. Kylee Surike | Special to PennLiveKylee Surike

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers’ red zone offense has plummeted to 30th in the NFL. But Mike Tomlin and Arthur Smith are not about to sit by and let it continue to happen.

During the mini-bye that the Steelers received after playing on Thursday against the Cleveland Browns, Tomlin says that he and Smith leaned into reviewing the tape from the Steelers’ red zone and short yardage packages.

The Steelers need to make personnel and schematic adjustments. However, Tomlin promises that those changes will come.

“No doubt, on both sides of the ball,” Tomlin said when asked if the team found a common thread for the issues. “That’s why we’re excited about getting back to work today and the application component. Identification is just one component. Application is probably more significant in terms of what are we going to do to rectify it, both in schematics and with manpower.”

Tomlin keeps the specific changes close to the vest but will come from multiple angles. The Steelers have been able to sustain drives and move the ball but have struggled to turn those explosives into anything more than a field goal. His aggressive fourth-down calls have forced the Steelers’ hands on short-yardage issues, too.

“We had a bonus-like day today with our players and really focused on ourselves and a couple areas of play that we feel like we need to shore up, particularly red zone offense and some red zone defense. As a matter of fact, we treated the last several days like a mini bye from a staff perspective and took a deep dive on some schematics in those areas,” Tomlin said.

The Steelers need to see it change and with a high-powered Bengals offense on the schedule, the Steelers’ offense will have to score points of their own against a bad defense.