The Pittsburgh Steelers will be back on the prime time stage at home once again as they prepare to host the New York Jets for Sunday Night Football in Week 7. The Steelers took a heartbreaking loss to the Dallas Cowboys at home just a few weeks ago, which should give all the more motivation they need to avoid another loss. Although the offense picked up in last week's win against the Las Vegas Raiders, there are still some major concerns about their ability to move the ball downfield.
Through the first six weeks of the 2024 NFL regular season, Pittsburgh is 28th in passing yards per game with 166.8, but is ninth in rushing yards per game with 131.5. The Steelers' offense isn't lighting up the stat sheet, but it's certainly improved since 2023. The offense is averaging about 20.7 points per game, and they haven't finished a season higher than that since 2020.
As Pro Football Talk hosts Mike Florio and Chris Simms previewed the Steelers and Jets, Simms harshly criticized Pittsburgh and claims they're going to struggle Sunday night.
"This Steelers offense, I don't think they're going to be able to move the ball on the Jets consistently, and really any capacity," Simms told Florio. "I'm just one that, I'm not really sure about Pittsburgh and who they are and what they are. I know they're 4-2 and it's impressive, but I don't look at any part of their team and really go, 'That's impressive.' I don't."
The Steelers are coming off of their most impressive looking win of the season as they took down the Raiders by a score of 32-13. Although, if it wasn't for a TJ Watt forced fumble on the goal line and a lucky roughing the passer call on Justin Fields which resulted in an interception, the score would have been a lot closer.
The offense hasn't looked threatening to any degree so far this season, which is why Pittsburgh is considering putting a healthy Russell Wilson in the lineup this week versus New York. Simms has every reason to doubt the offense, however, his last comment is contradictory to the Steelers' defense.
Pittsburgh's defense is by far one of the most impressive and impactful throughout the league. Watt and the defense have a top five rushing defense and allow the second least points scored per game of 14.3. On top of that, the Steelers have forced 11 turnovers through six games, and only four teams have more than that.
Steelers Cannot Afford To Continue Offensive Struggles Vs Jets
Pittsburgh has been able to get by and reach a 4-2 record by playing small-ball and shut down defense. That won't get them a win this week, because the Jets' defense is legit, and they just got themselves a new stud wide receiver in Davante Adams. Between Adams, Garrett Wilson, and Breece Hall, this offense is bound to put up some points on Pittsburgh's defense.
In previous weeks, the offense has tried focusing on a fast start, yet that hasn't come to fruition. Last week, the offense put 12 points on the scoreboard before halftime. In both of the two previous games before that, they only managed three points in the first half. Pittsburgh's first half offense has been abysmal, and is almost solely responsible for their two losses.
If Wilson gets the ball Sunday night, it wouldn't be surprising if the offense started off slow again, considering he hasn't been on the field once in the regular season. Nonetheless, relying on the defense is never a recipe for success and they've consistently allowed opposing offenses to score early.
