The Pittsburgh Steelers wrapped up Week 2 of the preseason with their second consecutive loss, falling to the Buffalo Bills 9-3. On a less than ideal night weather wise in the Steel City, the offense struggled, with the first team failing to score any points for the second straight week. There may have been positive outings, but another game in the loss column certainly places a damper on the team's overall performance.
Despite several opportunities to put points on the board, the Steelers were held to a single field goal attempt. Pittsburgh went 0-2 in the red zone and committed six penalties for 50 yards, en route to being out-gained by the Josh Allen-less Bills 245-219. The defense was a bright spot for the black and gold, holding Buffalo to just two third down conversions, but like years past, needed help from the offense to win, and didn't get it.
The frustration of the stagnant offense has carried over from last season even with all the changes made. The call for adjustments continued into the Steelers' postgame press conference, where Russell Wilson took the time to acknowledge both the good and bad things taking place during team activities.
"This is gonna be my 13th year, and every preseason is different. There's highs, there's lows. There's a lot of good that goes unseen sometimes and there's some things we also have to fix and get right. That's the diligence we have to have."
Wilson makes a solid point to remind fans these games don't matter at the end of the day. The best example is last offseason, as the Steelers went undefeated, with a fluid looking offense, then proceeded to struggle during the regular season. Teams are unlikely to let all their tricks out of the bag, especially when it's an AFC foe with playoff expectations. However, it's hard to look beyond the problems that appeared against another team's fringe players.
The preseason is great for working on manageable problems. As long as the mistake you made last time doesn't happen again, that's progress in the right direction. Acknowledging that there are things to fix and get right is a great first step, but with the regular season three weeks away and counting, Steelers fans hoped for more offensive success than what has been shown so far.
New Year, Same Steelers Offense
Entering into the 2024 season, the Steelers were criticized for a lack of offensive production. For the team to move in the right direction, it knew that it needed to reinvent itself. Pittsburgh responded with drastic changes, bringing in several new faces to create a spark for the team. Even with all the changes, the team has struggled under new Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith.
Over the last two games, the black and gold have averaged 281.5 yards of offense and 7.5 points. The starters saw action against quality defensive players in each contest, but, even against backups, the Steelers struggled. Injuries play a part in these matchups, with players like Troy Fautanu and Nate Herbig missing time, but even Head Coach Mike Tomlin acknowledged that the team must be better.
For the Steelers to succeed moving into the regular season, the team must translate the good things done in practice onto the field. It's possible to have a bad night, but to win games in the NFL, it's imperative to make adjustments to be successful. Multiple members of the Steelers have praised Smith's creativity, leading to hope that the team may be playing vanilla football in the preseason, to throw off their opponents ahead of the regular season.
These games may not affect Pittsburgh's chance at a Super Bowl, but the pressure for the Steelers to succeed continues to climb to an all-time high. The team is simply too talented to not be successful. It isn't time to panic just yet, but with one more game against the Detroit Lions before the regular season begins, the Steelers will need to do whatever it takes to get their offense up and running and playing at a very high level.
